Through the looking glass
by EternalBliss
Summary: Ok, so I've moved this to the Misc. category because of all the complaints I recieve about having a story that crosses over so much in its prev. Category. Set in the Fruits Basket world, but crosses over var. anime.
1. Welcome to the other side

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, Trent, his 3 friends and Howard are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet(  
  
"People, people! I realize class is over in 5 minutes, but we still have several questions to go over. Now, who can tell me what the square root of 30, 625 is?" The Professor yelled at his classroom of students, pointing at the problem written on the board.  
  
Julian rolled her eyes from where she sat in the back of the classroom, her chin resting on her hand. She'd probably end up answering again. None of those other idiots in class probably even knew how to read the board, let alone know what buttons to push on their calculators. This was just a junior college, after all, and most of the people there weren't exactly the cream of the crop. She waited as the seconds slowly ticked by on the clock. The Professor glancing around the room again, that perpetual frown on his face. With a sigh, Julian reluctantly placed her hand up into the air, a smile flickering across the Professor's face.  
  
"Ms. Bennett! Perhaps you could shed some light on the problem?" He asked, as she rolled her eyes again.  
  
"It's 175." She said, her voice flat, uninterested, as the teacher beamed at her.  
  
"That's absolutely correct! Can any of you tell me how Ms. Bennett found her answer? "He asked, his beady little eyes scanning his squirming students. None of them paid any attention to him, as usual, and he opened his mouth to berate them for not living up to his standards when the bell rang, the classroom clearing in 30 seconds flat.  
  
"Remember what we studied today! Have a good weekend! "He yelled after his fleeing students, as the door slammed back into the wall, the classroom empty.  
  
"Young people are so rude nowadays. Why, when I was young..." He muttered to himself, as he turned to wipe the board off.  
  
Julian shifted her books from one arm to the other, her head down as she walked through the hall. Her goal was to merely make it out of the building and to work unnoticed. However, as she looked up and saw the four guys loitering around the entrance, she figured that probably wasn't going to happen.  
  
"Hey Julie! How's it hangin' freak?! "The guy with the long black dreads called as she got closer, snickering with his friends, 3 other guys, who thought they could finally be cool by mimicking him. She scowled at him as she rolled her eyes; her sunglasses still perched on the top of her head.  
  
"Get out of my way, Trent. I don't have time for your stupid-ness today." She announced as she shoved past him, glowering at his 3 groupies, who hurriedly got out of her way.  
  
"Come on Julie! That was way harsh! Everyday we rib you exactly the same way, and everyday you tell us to drop dead, or get out of your sight. Can't ya come up with something better?" Trent asked as he trailed after her, dropping his arm around her shoulder.  
  
"Don't touch me with your skanky arm. There. How was that? I've never told you that before." She hissed in irritation, stomping along.  
  
"I don't know. It still doesn't seem very original. "Trent replied, rubbing his chin with his other hand before he shot her a sly grin.  
  
"Whatever, Trent. Anyway, you guys coming over tonight? I get off work at 11, and I just got the latest Comic Party and Kiddy Grade DVD's. Didn't you say you wanted to see them?" Julian asked him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, aware the 3 lackeys, Mike, Al, and Jared still trailed after them.  
  
"Are you kidding!? Heck yeah! I'm totally there! But I'm not telling them about it. Those 3 goons are getting on my nerves." He said, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper, as he glanced back at them. Julian snorted, biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.  
  
"Look, I know we've had this talk before about them thinking they need to dress, talk, and act like you, but seriously. Do you at least think you could talk them into loosing that ...walk...or whatever it is they think they're doing? Cause they look like they're mentally disturbed. "Julian said with a smirk as they drew up in front of the video store where she worked.  
  
"I'll have a word with them. See ya later, say 11:30ish?" Trent asked her, removing his arm before he shoved his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Yeah, I'll see ya." Julian replied, waving as she hurried into the store.  
  
"Hey, Julian! "Howard, the other clerk working that night said as she bounded behind the counter, shoving her books out of the way.  
  
"What's up Howard. How's it been?" She asked as she tied the Video Time apron around her waist, flashing him a quick smile.  
  
"It's been pretty good. Here, come help me put these new releases out, and I'll tell ya all about it." He said with a mellow grin, holding up a DVD case.  
  
"Sure thing! "  
  
  
  
"Boy, things were pretty busy tonight! "Julian said with a laugh later that night as she untied her apron, hanging it on the hook behind the counter.  
  
"Yeah. We raked it in pretty good. All those new releases and such." Howard said from where he sat counting the drawer, a pencil tucked behind his ear.  
  
"Yeah, probably. Well, I'm going to go. See ya tomorrow night! "Julian said after she gathered up her things, heading for the door.  
  
"Be safe. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my favorite co-worker. " Howard said, glancing up at her with a grin on his face.  
  
"I'm your only co-worker Howard! "She said with a laugh, letting herself out.  
  
It had gotten a bit cooler that evening and Julian shivered as she began the short walk home, her hands shoved in her pockets. She didn't particularly like having to walk home by herself this late at night, but her car was in the shop, and she didn't want to bother Howard to bring her home. She didn't see anyone out, but she still quickened her steps. She was nearly home when 3 guys leaning against one of the darkened storefronts, smoking as they passed a bottle between them startled her.  
  
"Well, whatta we got here? What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here by yourself? You lookin for a good time, baby?" One of the guys slurred, shoving off the wall as he leered at her.  
  
"Yeah, we can show ya a real good time, if ya interested?" One of the others said, as the third one snickered, throwing his cigarette on the ground.  
  
"No. Leave me alone." Julian growled as she hurried past them, glancing back at them over her shoulder.  
  
"Aww! You say that, but we don't think you really mean it." The third one hissed a knife suddenly in his hand as he watched her.  
  
Gulping, Julian turned and fled the guy with the knife cursing as she ran off.  
  
"Get after her! "He hissed at the other 2, who began to chase her.  
  
"This is freaking bad." Julian muttered to herself, ducking into an alley. It might not have been the best idea, but it was her only idea. She could hear the guys' footsteps pounding on the pavement behind her, and she slid as she rounded another corner, glancing around in confusion.  
  
"This isn't right. Something weird is going on. "She thought as she saw that the alley dead-ended several feet ahead of her. Her heart racing, she stopped and glanced around again, spotting some crates stacked along the one wall. She darted behind them as the 3 guys rounded the corner, her heart in her throat.  
  
"Come on. She must have kept going. "One of the guys yelled, their pounding steps echoing off into the distance. She held her breath, listening for them, and she slowly stuck her head out after several minutes had gone by, relieved to see that she was alone in the alley. After which she promptly frowned. This alley just stopped about 5 feet from where she stood, and she hadn't seen those 3 guys run past her and head in the other direction, so where had they gone? She scratched her head in bewilderment for a few seconds, than hesitantly stepped over to the wall that cut off the alley from continuing further. She laid her hand against the cool brick for a moment, started as the spot she was touching suddenly began to glow. Her eyes wide she tried to jerk her hand back from the wall, but it wouldn't move, no matter how hard she tried to pull it away.  
  
"What the freak..." She muttered as she, without thinking, put her other hand on the wall. Or well, she would have put it on the wall, had there been one there to touch. Her hands though, pushed through the brick; her arms quickly following as she involuntarily took a step forward. It was like some one was pulling her into the wall, and she had the faint impression this is how Alice must have felt. You know, the Alice from those books by Lewis Carroll she'd read when she was a little girl. Yes, this is probably much how she felt when she was sucked into the looking glass in that book, Julian thought as her body passed through the wall into dark nothingness. Panicking, Julian promptly passed out from the shock, slumping forward.  
  
  
  
Something was tickling her face. With a groan, Julian tried to push it away, but found that it was incredibly difficult for her to move. Some where deep in the recesses of her mind, she must have realized that she was lying on her face, as she pushed herself up with her arms, her eyes opening as she sat up. She was sitting in a field or something, so she figured it must have been grass that was tickling her nose as she rubbed a hand across her face. Everything looked so...so... WERID! The colors seemed...artificial or fake maybe. Where was she anyway? The sun was shining, and from its position, she'd guess it was about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, but that just couldn't be right.  
  
"Where am I?! "Julian muttered, beginning to panic as she got to her feet, he steps shaky at first. Suddenly it all came rushing back to her. Leaving the video store, being harassed by those thugs, hiding in the alley. And wait! After she'd hid in the alley, she'd been sucked into the brick wall?! She whirled around, glancing around in confusion. She certainly wasn't in any alley now... though things did look vaguely familiar. With a frown, Julian wandered off into the woods, her thoughts growing more and more troubled by the minute. Maybe...maybe she hadn't gotten sucked into the wall. Maybe she'd fallen, and hit her head. She remembered passing out. Perhaps someone had found her and brought her here. But where was here?! And why did things look so different? Ever her shoes, clothes, and skin looked different. And it was daylight out...even if the colors did look artificial...how long had she been unconscious? She'd left the store at about 11:15 ...and strangely her watch said that it was only 11:45 p.m. But...that couldn't be true either. Maybe it was broken too. Her frown deepened into a scowl as she shook her wrist with the watch, holding it up to her ear. The persistent ticking of her watch confirmed it. She must have been going insane.  
  
Suddenly the woods thinned out and she found a dirt path before her. She stopped and scratched her head in bewildered confusion. Everything looked so familiar...but why? She nodded her head in silence, resolved as she stepped out into the path, turning to follow it to the left. It had to lead somewhere, someplace. Well, whatever was down there she'd soon discover, and she was going to get some answers, darn it!  
  
  
  
About 5 minutes later, she figured she'd picked the right direction, as a house came into view. She stopped and stood on the hill the path was on, glancing down at it, her arms folded across her chest. Why, the house looked familiar too! She watched as a guy with dark hair, who was wearing a kimono walked out onto the porch, a newspaper in his hand, before she realized why everything looked familiar.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I've been sucked into Anime Land! "She screamed at the top of her lungs in shock, before she pitched over in a dead faint. 


	2. Embrace the Insanity

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, Trent, his 3 friends and Howard are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet( A/N- Occasionaly, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  
  
Julian's eyes flickered open to discover a pair of chocolate colored eyes staring into hers; the owner of said eyes kneeling next to her on the grass.  
  
"Are you alright, miss? You just fainted..." A familiar voice asked as he helped her sit up, concern in his normally merry eyes.  
  
Julian placed a hand on her forehead as she turned to stare at him, her eyes wide. "My head aches. I think I maybe seeing things." She told him in a dazed voice, continuing to stare into his face.  
  
"Do you think some ice would help? I have some in the house, if you'll come with me. My name is Shigure Sohma, by the way. This is our property you're on. "He said as he helped her to her feet, shooting her a quick look. He was obviously curious to her presence there. "Aren't we all." She thought as she stood up, trying to appear calmer than she felt. Actually, though, right now she felt like screaming...but that wouldn't have been such a grand idea.  
  
"Thank you. The ice would be most appreciated. My name is Julian. I'm...not from around here, and I'm sorry for trespassing. Though I don't know how I got here." She said with a weak laugh, placing her hand to her throbbing head again. She gripped Shigure's arm tightly as she swayed slightly.  
  
"Ah...I mean, whoa there! Be careful. I wouldn't want you to fall (into me, that is)" Shigure exclaimed as he reached out to steady her. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, her eyes dazed, confused. He felt his heart twinge as he stared down at her, a lop-sided grin on his face. She reminded him of Tohru a little bit, though this girl was older.  
  
"I'm sorry. But don't worry! I won't bump into you! "She reassured him, stumbling as they made their way down the hill. Shigure shot her a suspicious glance as they neared the house. She was very disoriented, that he could tell, but she was sincerely trying not to bump into him. It was almost like she knew... but she couldn't. He'd never seen her before ever, so there was no way she could know.  
  
"It must be my imagination." He thought as he guided her into the house.  
  
Julian sat at the table in the dinning room, or whatever it was (she really didn't know much about Japanese-style houses, but in the anime, that's where they were always eating, so...), an ice pack held to her head as Shigure walked back into the room, a tray of tea in his hands. He sat the tray down on the table and poured her a cup of tea, before he passed it to her, that easygoing grin of his on his face.  
  
"Here you are! The tea should help your headache as well, I would think. " He said as Julian placed the ice down on the table, reaching for the cup.  
  
"Thank you very much." She replied politely, taking a sip. She glanced down in the cup after she was finished a bright green liquid staring back at her. She'd never actually seen the tea in the Fruits Basket anime, but it figured it would be animated as well.  
  
"This place is a lot like the real world, except it's animated. If I was left here too long, I wonder if I'd start to think this was the real world?" She muttered, sitting the cup down on the table.  
  
"Did you say something?" Shigure asked her, and she looked back up at him, a slight smile on her face.  
  
"No. "  
  
"Oh, ok. How is the tea? I don't normally have visitors during the day, so I'm afraid I've gotten out of practice making tea." Shigure replied with a chuckle, running a hand awkwardly through his hair.  
  
"The tea is very nice. I don't drink tea at home, but this is nice."  
  
"Your home. That's the second time you've referred to it. Tell me, where are you from?" Shigure asked, picking up his cup to take a sip.  
  
"Me and my big mouth." Julian thought, her mind racing. She couldn't tell him everything. He wouldn't understand, and he'd probably be convinced she was a lunatic, and he'd call Hatori, and then it would probably be discovered she "knew" things, and Akito would have to be informed, and he'd probably order her memory erased. She wasn't sure that would even work on her. She was a real person after all, but you just never knew. Like Dorothy, she wasn't in Kansas anymore, not that she was from Kansas anyway, but you got the idea.  
  
"Well, I'm afraid I don't really remember too much. All I know is that I'm from the USA, and my name is Julian. I don't remember what I'm doing here, or where I'm from in the states or anything at all like that. I was unconscious for a while, and when I came to, I must have been in your woods. I followed the path here...I really didn't know what else to do. I guess I screamed because you startled me when you walked out onto your porch. I wonder what's wrong with me? What do you think happened to me?" She asked him. It wasn't an out-right lie, but it wasn't all of the truth either.  
  
"It seems odd indeed. If you're from some place in the US, perhaps you were here in Tokyo on business or vacation, and someone mugged and knocked you out. Or perhaps you fell and hit your head. It sounds to me like you may have amnesia. I should call my cousin Hatori. He's a doctor, so he would have a better idea of what's wrong with you. He doesn't normally practice his profession outside of the Sohma family, but he can make an exception this one time."  
  
"Oh, um, ok. (Great! He's going to call Hatori anyway.) "Julian replied, a weak smile on her face as Shigure got to his feet.  
  
"I'll just be a minute, please excuse me." He said before he walked away, his footsteps echoing off down the hall.  
  
Julian stared at the spot he'd just vacated in silence for several minutes. She had to admit the whole amnesia thing was a great idea, but now, not only would she have to fool Shigure, but Hatori too! Great! Just great. She picked up her cup of tea, downing the remaining liquid all in one gulp, her nerves frazzled. She...she didn't think she'd survive this. She was going to go insane. She just knew it. She poured herself another cup of tea, her hand shaking slightly. She fished through her bag for a bottle of aspirin, finding both it and her wallet buried in the bottom of her bag. Her face blanched as she pulled her wallet out, flipping it open to see herself smiling back at her from her driver's license. She hurriedly shoved it back in her bag, her hands trembling as she opened her bottle of aspirin, shaking out 2 of the pills. She took them and shoved the bottle back in her bag, closing it as she sat there, staring at the wall. What was she going to do? What if they looked in her bag? Found her wallet?! So much for the idea that she'd been mugged, since it was right there, for everyone to see.  
  
"I'll bury it. "She muttered to herself, picking up her cup of tea to take a sip. "No, that's no good. If I bury it, it'll still be here when I go home. Whole lot of good that'd do me. I know! I'll rip a hole in the lining of my bag, shove it through, and sew the hole shut! Than no one will ever know, and I'll be ok, as long as I don't lose my bag. "She muttered, several crazed giggles escaping as she sipped her tea again.  
  
"Don't laugh like that! Shigure will definitely think I've lost it if he hears me." She scolded herself, not caring how strange she'd probably look if anyone saw her sitting there talking to herself. She managed to school her features into a passive expression, and not a minute too soon either, as Shigure re-entered the room.  
  
"Well, Hatori finally agreed to come have a look at you. He said you're to keep icing the spot where you hit your head, but he thinks you'll be fine." Shigure replied as he sat back down across from her, a concerned smile on his face.  
  
"Oh, uh, ok. "Julian said, smiling slightly as she placed the icepack back in place. Besides, staring at him was beginning to unnerve her anyway.  
  
"I must say. Your Japanese is very good, for being from America that is. Why, I thought you were a Japanese citizen at first, you speak so well." He finally said after a moment of awkward silence, chuckling.  
  
"Oh...really? I, uh...must have studied it in school, I guess." Julian replied with a weak laugh. Japanese?! She was speaking Japanese? She thought they'd been speaking English... oh wait! All anime's were orginally in Japanese, now, weren't they? She must have been hearing the dubbed version...  
  
"I guess I don't really remember. I mean, that would make sense, if I have amnesia. Uh, where's the bathroom? "Julian added. She...she just needed to get away for a few minutes. She needed to gather her wits.  
  
"It's down the hall on the left. I can show you where it is if you like." Shigure said, as she stood to her feet, the ice pack back on the table.  
  
"No, that's ok. I can find it myself." Julian replied quickly, walking off.  
  
  
  
And find it herself she did. She had a basic idea of the layout of the house anyway, what with all the times she'd watched this anime and all.  
  
"Well, at least I got sent to a relatively safe anime. "She thought as she leaned against the door, expelling a deep sigh of relief. That would have been just what she'd have needed, worrying about getting blown up, stomped on, or shot...  
  
"Ok, Shigure thinks I have amnesia. Now, all I have to do is figure out away to fool Hatori. He is a doctor, after all. Abet, an anime one, but this is the world I'm in at the moment. If anyone would know if I was faking or not, it would be him." She muttered as she ran a hand through her hair in aggravation.  
  
"Why has this happened to me?!" She whined as she whirled to face the mirror, her hands planted on the edge of the sink basin. She glanced up at her reflection in the mirror, her mouth falling open in muted shock. She stared at her reflection for a few minutes before she lifted a trembling hand to her hair.  
  
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! It's...its MAGENTA! "She screamed, before she fainted...again. 


	3. I need a shot of Vodka right about now

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, Trent, his 3 friends and Howard are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet( A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  
  
"So Ms. Honda, do you have to work tonight?" Yuki asked Tohru that afternoon as they entered the house, a soft smile on his face. They both paused to take their shoes off in the entryway, the bags of groceries they'd gone to buy sitting on the floor by their feet.  
  
"No, I have this evening off. I thought perhaps after we eat dinner, we could all play cards or something? I think that would be lots of fun! " Tohru told Yuki as she smiled back at him, her smile sincere and open.  
  
"I would love to play a card game with you, Ms. Honda. Though I do think we need to put the groceries away before we do anything else." Yuki replied, grabbing the 3 bags. Tohru followed him to the kitchen, glancing in the dining room to see Shigure sitting at the table, a tray of tea sitting before him, with 2 cups. Tohru wrinkled her nose, thoughtful.  
  
"Yuki, do you know if Shigure had a meeting with his editor or anything today? "Tohru asked him as they put the food away, a thoughtful frown on her face.  
  
"No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh, well, he just had a tray of tea out, like he had a guest..." Tohru replied, glancing at Yuki. Yuki frowned and glanced toward the dining room, his frown quickly turning into a scowl.  
  
"I don't really care who it is as longs as it's not my idiotic brother." Yuki replied quietly, flicking a stand of hair out of his face as a sudden loud scream was heard coming from the direction of the bathroom followed by a thump.  
  
"What was that?" Tohru asked Yuki, a frown on her face.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe Kyo's..." Yuki began to say, both of them turning toward the door just in time to see Shigure hurry past the door, heading for the bathroom. In curiosity they followed behind him, watching as he stopped before the closed door, knocking on it with his knuckles; his voice a bit tense as he spoke.  
  
"Julian? Are you alright in there?" He asked, pausing. No one replied, as Yuki and Tohru glanced at each other.  
  
"Who's Julian?" Yuki asked her as she shrugged. Shigure, who knocked on the door again, called the girl's name louder this time ignoring them both. After no one replied, Shigure turned to look at them, his eyes locking on Tohru.  
  
"Tohru...could you go inside and see if she's ok?" Shigure asked her, as Tohru nodded. The guys stepped aside as Tohru eased the door open.  
  
"Who's Julian?" Yuki asked Shigure, eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
"She's a girl I met today. She passed out...." Shigure was saying when Tohru suddenly called his name, sounding worried.  
  
"Shigure! She must have fainted. I can't get her to wake up! "Tohru exclaimed, as Shigure entered the bathroom, followed by Yuki. A young woman with magenta colored hair was passed out on the floor, and Shigure stepped over her still form, crouching by her head.  
  
"Yuki, I need you to help me carry her out of the bathroom." Shigure informed him, picking the girl up under her arms, careful not to allow her head to touch his chest. It would have been bad if he transformed into a dog. Yuki grabbed her feet and backed out of the bathroom.  
  
"Um, where were you going to put her? "He asked Shigure, tightening his grip on her jean-clad legs.  
  
"We'll put her on the couch in the den." Shigure replied, as they shuffled down the hall, followed by Tohru, who was wringing her hands in worry.  
  
"Will she be ok? Why do you think she fainted "She asked as they entered the den, laying her on the couch.  
  
"I don't know. This is the second time she'd fainted on me today. That's what I started to tell you, Yuki. I found her about 45 minutes or so ago out in the yard. She passed out then, too. She doesn't remember anything but her name and that she's from the US, so I called Hatori. Maybe she has amnesia. Perhaps she's anemic as well. That would exclaim her frequent fainting. "Shigure replied, a hand stroking his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"I'll go get her some ice and a cool towel. That will help her feel better when she comes to! "Tohru said, her face lighting up as she thought of a way to be helpful.  
  
"That would be nice. "Yuki replied as she left the room. He then whirled to face Shigure, his face suspicious as he eyed his cousin.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I sincerely hope that's the truth, Shigure. Because if she fainted for some other reason I'm lax to mention, Hatori will murder you."  
  
She heard voices. Voices talking about her. With a groan, Julian opened her eyes, accidentally knocking the ice pack on her head off as she lifted a hand to her aching head. She glanced around with a frown, a bit disoriented.  
  
"Good. You're awake. "A gruff voice suddenly said, as a man with black hair leaned over her, his hair falling over one eye. She stared at him in bewildered shock. She knew that face. It looked like one of the Fruits Basket characters. Oh, wait. It was one of the Fruits Basket characters. She'd almost forgot she was currently stuck in anime land.  
  
"How are you feeling?" He asked her, starring at her.  
  
"Not too great." She finally choked out, running her tongue over her dry lips. When was this nightmare going to be over?  
  
"Huh. Please sit up. I want to examine this bump on your head. Shigure informed me this is the 2nd time you've fainted today that he's witnessed. That's what he said, anyway." Hatori replied, turning to glance back at his cousin, a frown on his face.  
  
"I did faint. I saw in the mirror that my hair was magenta. "She mummered to Hatori, glancing up at him. He eyed her in silence for several seconds after she said this, before he turned to look at Shigure again.  
  
"It was just tea you gave her, was it not?" Hatori asked him, his tone suspicious.  
  
"What? Of course! What do you think I am, a pervert?!" Shigure asked, sounding hurt.  
  
"You don't honestly expect me to answer that, do you?" Hatori said, his gaze cool as he tuned back to Julian.  
  
"I take it your magenta hued hair was a bit of a shock to you then? "He asked her as she shrank back into the couch cushions. "Uh oh. Must have said that wrong." She thought as she stared at him, her mind racing.  
  
"Hari! You're scaring her! You really need to work on your bedside manor! "A high voice exclaimed, a blond head darting into view.  
  
"Momiji. Be quiet. No, better yet. Go see Tohru or Yuki." Hatori replied, giving the boy a look.  
  
"Oh. It's the rabbit." Julian muttered as Hatori whirled to stare at her.  
  
"Did you say something?" He asked suspiciously, eyeing her intently.  
  
"I said, 'Oh, I have a headache.' But I guess that's understandable, since I did hit my head on the floor. I suppose my hair color must have came as a shock to me (because it's NOT magenta in the real world, and it shouldn't be magenta here either!), since I did faint. But if I have amnesia, like Shigure told me I probably do, that would explain it, right?" She said, covering up her statement about the rabbit.  
  
"He told you you have amnesia, did he? Shigure, you and I need to have a little 'chat' before I leave." Hatori replied as he shot Shigure a look. Gulping, Shigure began edging toward the door.  
  
"Maybe I'll go see if Tohru needs my help in the kitchen too." He said weakly, as Hatori scowled at him.  
  
"You're staying here. "He barked at him, before Hatori turned back to face Julian, pulling a penlight from his pocket.  
  
"Follow the beam with your eyes. Good. You seem to be alert. Now, what is your name?" He asked, as he turned the penlight off, shoving it back into his pocket.  
  
"(Think before you answer) Julian."  
  
"Just Julian? No surname?"  
  
"Well...I guess I have a surname, but I don't remember what it is. Maybe...maybe Julian's not my real name either! Maybe it's just a familiar name and I think it's my name?! "She said, making sure to wring her hands for good measure. These people thought she had amnesia and if it would buy her time, she was going to have it, darn it!  
  
"Calm down. Don't get so agitated. I'm sure that's your name. Is there anything you do remember about yourself? Besides your name, that is. "He asked her as he pulled a small pad of paper and a pen from his bag.  
  
"Well, I think I'm an American citizen. But that's really all I remember. I don't know where I'm from in the US or anything. Shigure tells me I'm in Tokyo, but I don't really know what I'm doing here, or how I got here or anything. I don't even remember how old I am. And I can't find my wallet or anything else that may give me some clues as to who I am in my bag either. "She said with a sniffle, wiping a tear from her eye. All those years of acting lessons were finally paying off. She'd just have to make sure no one ever looked in her messenger bag.  
  
"Um hum. "Hatori replied, eyeing her after he'd written something on his little pad of paper. He placed it back in his bag, than stared at her for a few minutes before he reached forward, his fingers locking around her wrist. He pulled her arm towards him, turning it over to display an angry, blood encrusted scrape.  
  
"Any idea how you happened to get this?" He asked as he reached for something in his bag with his free hand.  
  
"(Probably scraped it on the wall in the alley) No, I don't know. Maybe I fell." Julian said, biting her lip as he proceeded to clean the wound with disinfectant.  
  
"Sorry. This is going to sting a little."  
  
"(Yeah. You really look sorry) It's ok." Julian replied in a tight voice, blinking a few times as her eyes threatened to tear up from the pain. Great. She was in an anime world, and she still felt pain. Wasn't this her lucky day.  
  
No one said anything for a few minutes as Hatori worked on her arm, finally clearing his throat as he begun to wrap her arm in gauze.  
  
"It's my professional opinion that you're most likely suffering from a mild case of Amnesia caused by either severe emotional stress, or from a blow to the head. I don't think this condition will last long. Possibly several weeks at the most, I'd say. Now, it is my recommendation, and this will come as a shock to many in this house, that you stay here. Your defenseless, have no idea who you are really, and you're no doubt broke, so this is in your best interest. If it's agreeable to you, of course. Shigure won't mind, and there are several people living here, so you needn't worry about staying in a house with some strange man. And believe me, Shigure is a bit strange you'll come to find." Hatori replied, putting the bandages away.  
  
"Hey! I heard that! I'm not strange. I'm merely unique." Shigure exclaimed in defense of himself.  
  
"I'm not afraid. I think he's perfectly harmless, and if he wouldn't mind, I don't have any problems staying here, until I get my memory back, that is. (Or rather, until I figure out how to get home)" Julian told him, smiling shyly in Shigure's direction.  
  
"Oh good! How exciting! I'm going to go tell Tohru and Yuki! I know Tohru will be glad to have another girl around." Shigure replied gaily, nearly dancing from the room.  
  
"I don't know about harmless, but he's definitely brainless. Lie down and rest, I'll send Momiji in to keep you company. I have a few things to discuss with them about you and your condition still. I'm worried you may have a concussion, so you're going to have to stay awake for the next 8 hours. And that scrape on your arm is pretty deep, and it may become infected, so I'll leave some salve for it. Change the bandage once a day and leave it uncovered when you're sleeping. The air will do it good. Now, If you'll excuse me." Hatori told her as he closed his bag and stood up, striding from the room. He pulled the door shut behind him, and Julian sat there in silence, listening for his steps to fade away. Once she was sure she was alone, she let out a pent up sigh of relief before she picked up one of the throw pillows, placing it over her face to muffle her strangled scream. She just didn't know how much more of this she could take before she had a nervous break down. 


	4. Objects in mirrors

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, Trent, his 3 friends and Howard are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet( A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  
  
She'd finally managed to escape them. True, she was only hiding in the bathroom, but still...none of them were in there, thankfully. They'd all taken Hatori's lecture not to allow her to fall asleep for 8 hours seriously. And that had of course resulted in one of them always making sure they were with her. She'd seen neither hide nor hair of Kyo yet, but she'd finally, in a round about way, learned from Tohru that he was off training someplace with Kazuma for the weekend.  
  
"At least I don't have to deal with him yet. "Julian muttered from where she sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the door with her arms folded across her chest. Everyone had been very nice to her, making sure she felt welcomed and almost like a part of the family, but she'd expected that. She had to be careful though not to become too familiar with the Sohma's, however. If they knew she already knew about them, there'd be problems. Not to mention questions. Questions she didn't have answers to. She didn't know all of what Hatori had told them, but she had an inkling of what he'd said. Yes, she'd definitely have to watch her step around them. She dumped the contents of her messenger bag on the floor, then ripped a hole in the lining; feeling a bit ticked off. That was her favorite bag. Figures that'd be the one she'd have to damage. She fiddled through the stuff that lay scattered on the floor, pulling out her wallet. She opened it and pulled a wad of money out, sitting it aside. She'd let the Sohma's think she had no money, but she'd just gotten paid that day. At home you know. In the real world. She had a grand total of $572 bucks in cash on her. One just never knew when it may come in handy, so she figured that to be on the safe side, she'd better not leave in her wallet that was about to be sewed up in the lining. She needed to get some contact solution, as well as a toothbrush. Hopefully those wouldn't be too high. Anyway though, it was a good thing she always listened to mom's advice, more or less, and carried a sewing kit with her, because it was bound to come in handy tonight. Mom had always said you should always be prepared for anything. Oh, if only mom could see her now.  
  
"Actually, if mom could see me now, she'd probably drop over dead." Julian muttered as she stitched up the hole, the whole task taking only a matter of seconds. She turned the bag inside right again and scooped her stuff off the floor, throwing it back in the bag. She picked up her wad of money and shoved it in her pocket before pushing herself to her feet. She padded over to the sink and braced her hands on the basin, looking at herself in the mirror. She was starting to look...bad, to say it nicely. This stress was getting to her. She turned the water on and cupped her hands beneath the cool water, splashing a handful of it on her face. That felt much better, and hopefully it would help her look better too. She hoped that after she'd gotten some sleep, the dark circles under her eyes would go away, or else she feared she end up looking like a raccoon. One with short, spiky magenta hued hair, no less. If that happened, she could never leave the house again. If she did, it may result in a poor child becoming scarred for life. Their parents of course would make them get therapy, but that wouldn't help either. The poor kid would just never recover.  
  
Julian giggled insanely as she patted her face dry with one of the towels hanging by the sink, praying it was Tohru's. Because thinking she may have been patting her face dry with one of the guy's towels was too much to take. She glanced back up into the mirror when she'd finished, her eyes going as wide a saucers as she discovered the reflection in the mirror was no longer of her. It was off a room some place, a very familiar room she knew quite well. It was her living room in her apartment in Hillsdale...and that was definitely Trent who'd just walked through her line of vision and threw himself on the couch, a can of pop in one hand, as the other reached for the remote.  
  
"T...Trent! Trent, can you here me?!" She hissed, gripping the edge of the sink in a death grip as she leaned closer to the mirror, waiting for his reply.  
"Well, how do ya like this?! She asks me over to hang out with her and she's the one who's late." Trent muttered as he leaned against the wall beside Julian's apartment, his arms folded across his chest. It was almost 11:45. Where was she?  
  
"Aww, night probably ran long at the video store. She won't mind if I go ahead and let myself in to wait for her." He muttered, glancing around to see if anyone else was in the dim hallway. Seeing no one, he stooped down and picked her doormat up, pulling out her spare key. He let the mat drop to the floor again before he straightened up, letting himself in. It was dark inside, naturally, so he flipped the light on and headed for the TV. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned it on, tossing the remote on the couch. He wondered off to the kitchen, the TV blaring in the background as he pulled the fridge open. She'd been watching Adult Swim again he supposed, as he recognized the tag line for the program on Cartoon Network. He glanced in the fridge and grabbed a can of Pepsi, pulling the tab as he shut the fridge with his foot, flipping the light off as he took a sip of his pop. He headed for the couch and threw himself on it, reaching for the remote as he glanced at the TV. Some anime he'd never seen before was on; a girl with magenta colored hair starting at him from the TV, her eyes wide in desperation. She looked vaguely familiar, this girl, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what this anime was. Though he did think that the character designs looked a lot like the Fruits Basket characters. She suddenly spoke, her words causing him to inhale the swallow of Pepsi he'd been in the process of swallowing.  
  
"Trent! Trent, can you hear me? It's me Julian! "The girl hissed, leaning closer to the TV screen. Pepsi sprayed from his nose as he leaned forward, slamming the Pepsi can on the coffee table.  
  
"JULIAN?!?" He exclaimed in appalled shock as he wiped his face off, unable to believe his eyes.  
  
"Are you drinking my Pepsi?! That better not stain my carpet! "She hissed, pointing her finger at him sternly.  
  
"I...I...Julian?! Is that really you? How...how'd you get in the TV?!" Trent exclaimed as he leapt off the couch and stepped around the coffee table, crouching in front of the TV. She looked like Julian all right, except for the whole magenta colored hair, but other than that...not to mention she sounded like herself too.  
  
"Oh Trent, it's terrible! I was walking home from work, and some thugs threatened me, and chased me into an alley. I hid behind some crates and they left, but I couldn't figure out where they'd gone to, because the alley dead-ended in the direction they'd gone, so I went to investigate! And when I touched the brick wall, I got sucked into Anime land! This is the Fruits Basket world, and they all think I have amnesia, because I couldn't tell them the truth! I mean, how do you tell someone they don't actually exist?! Trent, it's horrible! I want to come home, but I can't figure out how to get back! What if I'm trapped here forever?! What'll I do?" Julian hissed her voice low as she pressed a hand to the screen.  
  
Hesitantly, Trent lifted a hand and pressed it against his side of the screen, a bewildered frown on his face.  
  
"Julian...I...I just don't know what to say. Why does all these weird things always happen to you? "  
  
"I don't know, but you have to get me out of here before I go insane! Trent! You need to figure out how to get me back!" Julian said, looking a bit frazzled as she removed her hand from the screen and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"Well... I'll do the best I can. Where's this alley at?" he asked, resting his forearms on his thighs.  
  
"It's that one between the bank and Millar's Drug store on Market St." Julian replied, turning to glance back at the bathroom door for a second.  
  
"Trent. I gotta go. Check things out on your end, and hopefully I'll be in touch." Julian hissed as she glanced back at him.  
  
"Julian, wait! Where are..." Trent hissed in panic as she turned and hurried to the door, turning the light off before she opened the door, and disappeared from sight, the TV screen flickering before the regular show on Adult Swim came back on. Trent stared at the TV for a minute, bewildered as he lifted a hand to scratch his head in confusion. He didn't know what was going on, but he figured he should probably go check out this alley. 


	5. Errands, Bad Decisions, and Stuff Genera...

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, Trent, his 3 friends and Howard are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  


"Shigure, I don't know about this." Julian said worriedly, chewing on her lip the next afternoon as she followed him down the street.  
  
Shigure glanced back at her, an easygoing grin on his face. "Oh, don't worry! It'll be fine. Ayame and Mine will have such fun picking out some clothes for you. They live for this sort of thing." Shigure replied, waving off her concerns with a casual wave before he turned back around. He missed the un-amused look that flashed across her face as she folded her arms across her chest. She didn't like this. Not one bit. But she couldn't continue to wear Tohru's clothing. The girls were about the same size, but Julian was taller and a bit more, well, endowed than Tohru was. She was wearing one of Tohru's longer skirts, but because of her height, it only reached her knees. And the top? Let's not even go there. It was a good thing Tohru had founder her one of Kyo's extra hooded sweatshirts to wear over it, or else she would have never even left the house this morning. But she'd rather wear Tohru's too short or too tight clothing than be dressed in some of the outfit's that Ayame designed. He was weird. A complete flake. His assistant wasn't much better. But she really didn't have any other choice. It wasn't like she could just whip out her wad of money or anything.  
  
"But Shigure. I don't want to take advantage of your cousin Ayame." She asked, racking her brain for a way to get out of this. No ideas were forthcoming, however.  
  
"No, it's really no problem. Besides, he owes me a favor anyway! "Shigure laughingly replied as he clamped a hand around her wrist, pulling her after him.  
  
"Awe! Hang it all!" She muttered in annoyance.  
  
"Did you say something, Jules?" Shigure asked her, as she sighed in annoyance. Great. Just great. Even the dreaded nickname was back.  
  
"No."  
  
  
  
No one was at the shop when they arrived, a closed sign hanging in the window. A feeling of dread settled in Julian, her stomach doing a flip-flop before it sank into her shoes.  
  
"Life is over. I just know I'm going to end up wearing a bright green mini- dress with neon yellow tights or something. If Trent ever saw that, life as I know it would be over." Julian thought in ill humor as Shigure released her wrist and pulled the door open. A little bell hanging over the door rang as they walked in, Mine, Ayame's assistant breezing out from the back of the shop.  
  
"I'm sorry, but we're closed toda...Oh! Shigure! I didn't think you'd be here already! Why don't you 2 follow me back to the back and we can get started. Oh, this will be so fun!" Mine said, clapping her hands in excitement as she latched onto Julian's arm, dragging her along with her, leaving Shigure to follow after them.  
  
"You must be Julian! I'm Mine Kuramae, Ayame's assistant. It's so nice to meet you! So tell me...are you Shigure's girlfriend?" She asked her, her voice dropping to a mock whisper as she asked her the last question.  
  
"What?!? No!" Julian exclaimed, horrified that Mine would think so.  
  
"You needn't protest so much." Shigure replied in mock sorrow as they walked into the fitting area, or whatever it was. Julian could hear Ayame talking to himself back in the clothing storage area, rushing out as Shigure and her sat on the couch, a mound of clothing in his arms.  
  
"Shigure! You're here already? And this must be Julian! She's just as lovely as you said! I'm Ayame Sohma, Shigure's much more handsome cousin." He announced, laughing as he eyed Julian.  
  
"I have the perfect outfits for you! This will be so grand! Even Yuki will appreciate my talent!" Ayame announced, clapping his hands gaily.  
  
"Oh. I...I'm sure he will." Julian finally croaked out, feeling like she was trapped in a rapidly sinking ship. Shigure glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as Ayame kept talking, holding up 2 different outfits, a short mint green thing, and a bright orange and purple top or something. Her face blanched and Shigure glanced back at Ayame just in time to see the 2 things he was rattling on about.  
  
"Ayame, those are just lovely, but I think Julian might prefer something a little more...reserved. You know...something that's a little more like her personality." Shigure replied tactfully. Julian shot him an appreciative look, feeling as if she may cry. Finally. Some one had come to her rescue.  
  
"Oh. Well...what about this one?" Ayame asked, holding up a magenta sheath dress with huge white polka dots.  
  
"Uh, no, I don't think that's the best idea either." Shigure replied as Julian's mouth fell open in shock, a bead of sweat appearing on his head. Perhaps this wasn't the brightest idea he'd ever had either.

  
  
"Well. That was.... uh, entertaining. " Shigure meekly replied about an hour later, 2 large bags clutched in his hands as they made the short walk back to the house. Julian didn't reply as she walked next to him, her jaw taunt as she tightened her grip on the small bag she held with Tohru's borrowed clothing in it.  
  
"Oh? I'm happy from you. That I could be a source of entertainment for you." Julian ground out between clenched teeth, still very displeased.  
  
"You're a bit upset, aren't you?" Shigure asked, laughing nervously as she glanced at him, her gaze on the chilly side.  
  
"I look like a walking candy cane, Shigure. A walking candy cane with magenta hair. "She announced coolly.  
  
"I think you look quite cute. In a sweet way."  
  
"Yes, well, I could understand that. Looking cute...in a sweet way, since I look like a PEPPERMENT STICK! (Life sucks) When I find the person who stole my wallet, I'm going to murder them! Since this was ultimately their fault. (I wonder if that's the same as saying I'm going to kill myself ?)" Julian replied, beginning to calm down. She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. There probably wasn't any reason to stay mad. It wasn't going to accomplish anything.  
  
"Oh. Uh...ok." Shigure said, grinning nervously in her direction. He'd always heard American's were loud and brash...  
  
"Oh well. I suppose this is an improvement over what I was wearing. At least it fits." She replied, catching a glimpse of herself in a store window as they walked past. She did look sort of cute. Except for the whole magenta hair thing.  
  
"Huh. Maybe I could dye it." She thought, completely missing whatever Shigure had just asked her. She glanced up at him in confusion, tugging on a strand of her hair.  
  
"What did you ask me?" She asked him, as he smiled slightly.  
  
"I asked if there is anything else you needed. Like a toothbrush or anything."  
  
Julian stared at him, her face expressionless. "Well, duh. Of course I've got other things I need, but I'm not going shopping for panties and bra's with you." She thought as she willed her mouth to smile.  
  
"Oh, but I feel so bad for making you do even more for me." Julian heard herself saying, chewing on her lip for added effect. "Heh. Maybe when I get back, I should change my major to theatre. Because I'll have this whole acting thing down to an art." She thought while Shigure said something as he handed her some money.  
  
"Thank you so much. You just wait right here. I'll be back in a flash." Julian hurriedly said as she shoved the money in her pocket.  
  
"Wait! Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Shigure called after her.  
  
"No, I'll be perfectly fine." Julian replied with a smile, before she escaped into the department store. She grabbed a basket at the door and wandered down the different aisles, grabbing the various things she needed. She'd just about finished making her selections when she heard 2 young girls behind her whispering and giggling to each other. The only thing Julian overheard them say was something about magenta and hair, but that was enough. Clenching her teeth, Julian stalked off down the aisle. She didn't stop until she'd reached the section where the hair dye was, grabbing a box of bleach blonding. She'd had enough of this "magenta" hair gig.

  
  
"Did you get everything? "Shigure asked her innocently as she stalked out of the store, a sack in her hand. She glanced up as him and plastered a smile on her face as she reached him, opening her other hand to let a handful of coins and several crumpled bills fall into his hand, the bags of clothing Ayame had given her sitting at his feet.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I had no problems. Here's your change. Sorry there's not more of it." She announced in her best bubbly fake voice.  
  
Shigure glanced at her as he placed the money in his wallet. She still had that bright smile on her face, but he was beginning to think there was much more to this girl than met the eye.  
  
"Well then, if you're ready, we should go back. I'm sure Tohru has a delicious meal just waiting for us!" Shigure announced as he put his wallet away, a happy smile on his face as he grabbed the 2 bags.  
  
"Ok! I'm getting hungry too!" Julian said with a slight laugh as the 2 began the short walk back to the house.

"This stupid hair dye better work." Julian muttered much later that night as she paced in the bathroom, waiting for the dye to set. She'd wisely waited for everyone to go to bed before she'd conducted this little experiment, and things better just go as planned. The tiny timer she'd snatched from the kitchen finally rang as she turned it off. She gingerly pulled the plastic cap off her head and turned the shower on. She was soon rinsing the dye from her hair, turning the water off once she was done. She wrapped her hair in a towel before she dried off and pulled her pajama's back on. Grabbing the towel, she bent over and pulled the towel off her head, briskly drying her sopping wet hair. She tossed her head back, her hair bouncing in every direction as threw the towels in the laundry basket. Finally working up her nerve, she padded over to the mirror and looked up at her reflection. What she saw made a vein in her head start to twitch as she clenched her jaw in a mixture of anger and irritation.  
  
"...Well, this may be a slight improvement I suppose. "She finally snapped as she fingered a strand of hair. The good news was her hair was no longer magenta. Unfortunately, her hair hadn't turned blond either. Instead, it had turned this weird ecru color, which had a tint of green to it in the light.  
  
"Why can't things ever go right for me?!" She hissed as her reflection as she shook her fist at the mirror.  
  
  
A/N- Well, I hope you all like this chapter well enough. It and chapter 7 have been the hardest ones to write so far. Sorry if it's a bit dry. Hopefully I'll have chap. 6 and 7 up by next week some time. A Special thanks to all my reviewers! I'm glad you all like it so far, and in regards to your idea, Bronze Dagger, you'll have to check out chap. 7. It was a concept I'd been thinking about too. Until next time!


	6. Changing Channels

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, Trent, his 3 friends and Howard are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet( A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.

"I've been trapped here 5 days now." Julian hissed at the mirror that Wednesday morning, a scowl on her face. She jammed her toothbrush in her mouth; violently scrubbing at her teeth as she made a face at herself in the mirror. Her stupid ecru colored hair was sticking out in all directions again that morning, but she couldn't find her brush. But that's what happened when one shared a house with 4 other people.  
  
"I want my apartment back. Where only I live." She grumbled after she'd spit the toothpaste in the sink and rinsed her toothbrush off, letting it drop back into the holder on the sink. She walked over to the linen closet and pulled the doors open, rummaging around for her hairbrush. Or any comb or brush for that matter, but to no avail. She shut the doors and glanced around the bathroom again, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.  
  
"Where could it be?" She thought, suddenly startled out of her wits as someone abruptly pounded on the door.  
  
"Hey! Prima donna! Hurry up! Some of us got places to go this morning!" A familiar voice yelled, the pounding continuing.  
  
Julian stalked over to the door and threw it open, glowering at Kyo, who glowered back.  
  
"There. I'm done!" She hissed as she brushed past him. "Oh, and by the way! I always liked you well enough, but Tohru still deserves to end up with Yuki. Just so you know." Julian announced suddenly, turning back to point at him. He flushed, his face turning a bright shade of scarlet.  
  
"Wh...what are you babbling about?! I don't got time for this! I'm gonna be late for school!" He yelled in embarrassment before he entered the bathroom, slamming the door. Grinning to herself, Julian continued down the hall, heading for the room she was sharing with Tohru. Things sure had gotten livelier once Kyo had come home. Though those prima donna cracks would have to go.

  
  
"Bye! Be safe. Have fun on your class trip." Shigure called after Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo as they left that morning, a grin on his face. Tohru smiled as she turned and waved back.  
  
"Good-bye Shigure! Remember to go get some groceries and eat properly! " She called before she turned around again to find Yuki smiling at her.  
  
"Miss Honda, you don't need to worry so much. I'm sure Shigure will be just fine. After all, Julian is still there with him and I'm sure she'll keep an eye on him for you. "Yuki told her as Tohru smiled and nodded.  
  
"You're right! She promised me she'd take good care of him, so I won't worry!" She replied as Kyo turned around, a scowl on his face.  
  
"I don't like her. She's weird. I wish she'd go home or something'. And I don't believe that crock about having amnesia at all!" He snapped sullenly.  
  
"You're just mad because she probably insulted you again. What did she say this time?" Yuki replied as he flicked a strand of hair out of his face. Kyo flushed.  
  
"Oh shut up! I don't wanna talk to you!" Kyo snapped as he stalked off.  
  
  
  
"So, you said they were going to Okinawa on a class trip right? How long are they going to be gone again?" Julian asked as she followed Shigure back to the dinning room.  
  
"Yes, that's right. They'll be gone until Sunday, so alas, it'll just be you and I. Sweet Tohru won't be here to cook or do our laundry for us." Shigure replied, a mock tear rolling down his cheek as he seated himself at the table, grabbing the paper.  
  
"Oh please. Like a 27 year old man can't do his own laundry for 5 days." Julian replied as she rolled her eyes, leaning in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest.  
  
Shigure looked up from his paper, perturbed.  
  
"How did you know how old I was?" He asked her in surprise.  
  
Julian kept her face void of emotion as she had a mental breakdown on the inside. "Oh, well, um, Yuki told me. (Please, oh please, never ask Yuki about this) "She replied.  
  
"Oh, I see. How lovely." Shigure replied with a grin, holding his paper back up again.  
  
"I think I'll go see if Tohru left me anything to do in the kitchen. After that, we can go do that grocery shopping Tohru mentioned." Julian finally said after a moment of silence, pushing away from the doorframe, to enter the kitchen.  
  
"Tohru's pretty thorough. I doubt you'll find much to do. I do believe she left the grocery list on the counter, however." Shigure replied, never glancing up from his paper.  
  
"I'd noticed, but you never know."  
  
"No, I suppose not." Shigure muttered under his breath as he lowered the paper and watched her retreating back, his face unreadable.  
  
  
  
Shigure had been right. Tohru had taken care of everything.  
  
"What's she expect me to do all day?" Julian muttered to herself as she snatched the grocery list up off the counter, scowling after a few minutes as she glanced it over.  
  
"What does she think I am? I don't know what to make with half this stuff." Julian muttered as she finished reading the list, sighing in irritation. She noticed Tohru had written a tiny note on the bottom of the list, that she'd left them a pot of stew and a strawberry pie for dinner that night, so Julian was glad that one night was covered at least.  
  
"Eww. Strawberry pie." She muttered, making a face as Shigure wandered into the room.  
  
"Did you say something about strawberry pie?" He asked her hopefully as she whirled to face him, the list clutched in her hand.  
  
"Yeah. Tohru left us one for dinner."  
  
"Oh! I love strawberry pie!" Shigure exclaimed happily, positively swooning over the idea.  
  
"(Geez. He acts like he's never even eaten it before) That's good, cause I don't. You can have my share."  
  
"Oh? You don't like it?"  
  
"Nah. Don't really like any kind of fruit except watermelon." Julian replied with a negative shake of her head.  
  
"Oh, I see. Hey! You're making progress! You just remembered something about yourself! That you don't like fruit." Shigure exclaimed, grinning.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. I guess I did. (Great. Can't even make ordinary conversation without slipping up and giving myself away.)" Julian replied with a hesitant smile.  
  
"That's just lovely. So, are you ready to go shopping? It looks like it might rain."  
  
"Uh, yeah, about that. I don't really know how to make anything with the stuff Tohru has on this list here. I'm not a bad cook, but I don't particularly like to cook." Julian replied as she pointed at the list.  
  
"Well, that's easy to fix. Just buy some stuff you know how to cook with. And you've remembered something else now too. That you don't like to cook."  
  
"(Dang it! I just did it again!) Well, I just seem to be moving along in leaps and bounds today, now aren't I?" Julian replied, forcing a laugh. Things just weren't going well today  
  
  
  
"Well. Isn't this a cute little store." Julian replied later that morning as she and Shigure neared the little grocery store, the modified list of groceries in her hand.  
  
"Isn't it though? Just like from the pages of a storybook!" Shigure replied wistfully as Julian gave him a look before she rolled her eyes, a slight smile on her face.  
  
"Why, people might even think we're married."  
  
"Well, they certainly won't think I'm you sister. What with my ecru colored hair and all." Julian replied dryly as Shigure pulled the door open and waited for her to walk inside before he trailed after her. She grabbed a basket and strolled through the store, aware he was babbling on about something or other behind her, though she wasn't really listening. She smiled as she grabbed several items off the shelves in one aisle, before she headed for the frozen foods section. She walked over to one of the ice chests and peered inside, hurriedly clamping her hand over her mouth in shock. At least she hadn't screamed out loud or something. She saw Trent staring back at her, an eyebrow cocked in surprise. He began to open his mouth to speak when Julian began to make wild waving motions with her free hand.  
  
"Jules? Is everything alright?" Shigure asked in concern as he noticed her antics, eyeing her in curiosity.  
  
"I...I'm fine. A bug startled me. Could you do me a favor and go get me a bag of Potato chips? I'm suddenly craving something salty." She asked him, naming off the first thing that popped into her head.  
  
"Potato chips? But we already have a bag at home." He said, shooting her a weird look.  
  
"I...I know. But I...I want some, uh, salt and vinegar chips." She told him quickly, though she personally couldn't stand salt and vinegar chips.  
  
"Well...ok. Stay right here. I'll be back." He replied, shooting her another weird look before he walked off.  
  
Julian quickly glanced around and seeing no one, leaned toward the glass case, her hands planted on the glass.  
  
"Trent?! Couldn't you have picked someplace more convenient to appear?!" She hissed, knowing she must look a bit on the crazy side to be talking to a freezer case.  
  
"Well, I didn't plan this. I just turned the TV on and there you were. Anyway, what's happened to your hair now?!"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it. Tell me what's going on? Have I been on the news yet? Are people wondering where I am?"  
  
"What? No. What are you talking about? It's only been ½ an hour since I talked to you last. I just got back from checking out that alley. Which does not dead end where you said it did. I did find your cell phone, though. So you must have been there."  
  
"Only ½ an hour?! It's been 5 days! 5!"  
  
"Well, I don't know what to tell ya, Jules."  
  
"Don't call me that. You know I hate that nickname." Julian snapped, hurriedly glancing around again.  
  
"Oh. But you let Shigure call you that. That was his voice I heard, right?"  
  
"...Yes. You've seen the episodes enough to know how he is."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Anyway though, I had a thought on the way home from the alley. I'm going to try something real quick, so hang on a second." Trent replied as he walked away, the only thing Julian could see of him still was his legs.  
  
"Where am I supposed to go. What are you doing, anyway? Trent? Can you hear me?!" Julian replied, beginning to panic when he didn't answer. She straightened slightly as Shigure rounded the corner, a bag of chips in his hands.  
  
"Here are your...is everything ok?" He asked her in concern.  
  
Julian forced herself to smile as she reached out, grabbing the bag. She swayed suddenly, feeling strange.  
  
"I knew something was wrong!" Shigure exclaimed, reaching out to grab her arm, as her surroundings seemed to swim in front of her eyes.  
  
"Uh, you might not want to do that." Julian replied weakly as his hand clamped down onto her arm. Suddenly everything seemed to freeze, than slant, all the colors bleeding together. Everything turned black suddenly, static ringing in her ears. Julian felt herself falling again. Except this time she wasn't alone.  
  


A special thank you goes to my one reviewer for chapter 5, lol!  
  
Myu Higurashi- Thanks for reviewing twice! I'm so glad you like the story, and yes, he does. Lol. But this will just be between us for now!  
  
Stay tuned everyone! Chapter 7 is coming soon! It just needs to be typed up! And tweaked a bit! Are any of you surprised the big Sohma family secret hasn't been revealed? Me too.... Lol.


	7. Interlude 1 Back in the Day

Interlude  
  
The TV screen fizzled and went dark as Trent removed the Fruits Basket DVD from Julian's dvd player, hurriedly putting in the first disk he laid his hands on. He didn't know if his idea would work, but it just might. And if it did...maybe eventually Julian could find her way back to the real world. Or maybe not.  
  
The menu to the dvd came up and Trent peered at it intently, looking to see if he could see Julian. The menu appeared unchanged, and he selected the first episode on the disk, skipping through the intro. No Julian, no anything other than what he'd expected to see on this anime. He sighed in frustration, clenching his hand into a fist as he watched the episode progress. Suddenly he leaned forward as one of that particular anime's main characters tapped someone on the shoulder, the girl turning out to be none other than Julian herself.  
  
"Yes! It worked! Hey! Julian?! Julian?" Trent yelled, the end of his sentence fading as he stared at the TV. Unlike the 2 times before, Julian didn't reply, didn't even glance his way. Trent ran a hand through his hair in frustration, watching his best friend walk across the screen in some fictional anime world. What was he going to do? Did he mess up being able to talk with her by changing dvd's? Things didn't make sense. Was Julian trapped in her dvd player? What had she told him just moments ago? He'd been gone for maybe 45 minutes at the most, but she said 5 days had passed. What if...he could only contact her every ½ hour or so? Maybe that was the key to it all. And since he didn't have any better idea's, Trent settled down on the couch to wait, turning up the volume. He might as well be entertained...  
  
  
  
I know, I know, this isn't chapter 7 like I promised, but every several chapters I'm going to include these Interludes, so you kinda know what's going on in the real world. And I'd think it'd be extremely obvious by now, but this story is a crossover. It's main setting revolves around Furuba and those Characters, hence the reason it was classified in the Fruits Basket section, but Julian and her partner in crime, end up skipping through a bunch of different anime's and Manga's. As well as 1 live action movie. But that's still a ways off from now. Hope to have chapter 7 up later today.  
  
Special thanks go to my reviewers for chapter 5 and 6,- Body by Gen, Lady Elithraniel, Kamuki, KerriCarri, and Samika!  
  
Body by Gen- He'll be turning into his other self soon enough, but it's still several chapters away. You'll have to stay tuned to see what happens...lol  
  
Lady Elithraniel- Glad you like it! Comedy's my specialty. And sorry, Trent can't go away, lol. He's just fated to show up about every 3-5 chapters or so. And he's important, I guess.... Lol. Though I do wish now I'd gave him a much snazzier name...  
  
Kamuki- Awe, gee thanks! I'm glad you love it so much. It's fun for me to write, but I probably wouldn't continue the story if no one read it or ever reviewed it!! Lol  
  
KerriCarri- I'll try to keep on a regular schedule to update, but it's hard at times, lol. I'm busy!, lol. Anyway, yeah, I had to keep Trent and Julian connected to pull off my crossover premise for this story. And you'll have to wait for chapter 7 to see what happened at the end of six, though this interlude should give you some idea. And poor Shigure. Gets blamed for everything...lol.  
  
Samika- Nope, Trent has to stay in the real world. And there maybe some romantic overtones as the story progresses. As several people have pointed out to me already, Shigure does seem to like Julian...lol  
  
And that's all for now!! Any guesses on what anime Julian and companion have ended up in? 


	8. Strange Foreigner

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket or Kiddy Grade, but Julian and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  
  
"Ugh. I think I may be dead." Julian moaned as she came to, lifting a hand to her head. She felt weird again. Like she had 5 days ago. When this whole fiasco had started. Groaning, she tried to move and found she couldn't. Because she was pinned to the ground by Shigure Sohma. A very human looking Shigure Sohma.  
  
"Oh no." She said, her face slipping into one of shocked horror as he groaned and shifted slightly.  
  
"Oh. My head. Feels like I have a hangover..."She heard him whine as he moved, his eyes opening to find himself staring down into Julian's horror stricken face.  
  
"Uh...uh...what's going on? Where are we? What happened? Hey wait a minute! I didn't turn... into a dog." He announced in shock.  
  
"Yes...I know. Now, get off me. I'll see if I can explain what's happened." Julian replied, shoving him away. He moved and soon the 2 were sitting in some alley someplace.  
  
"Well...I see we're still in some anime. If only I could tell what one. " Julian finally muttered as she folded her legs Indian style.  
  
"Huh? What? Did you say Anime? "Shigure asked, looking confused.  
  
"(How to explain, how to explain.) Well Shigure, you see...um, you know what anime is, right?" Julian asked, sighing laboriously.  
  
"Do I...well, of course. Why?"  
  
"Well, it's hard to explain really...but we've some how been sucked into some Anime. Don't ask me what anime, but we're definitely not in the real world anymore. (Well, not that your world is the real world either, but I can't just tell you your some anime character.)"  
  
"...Did you hit your head again?" Shigure asked her, his look somewhat on the skeptical side.  
  
"NO!!!! I know it sounds ludicrous, but I'm telling you the truth! We're trapped in some anime! Why else did you think you didn't change into a dog? This isn't your world, so you wouldn't be cursed here." Julian exclaimed in annoyance, before she added, "See! I'll even show you!" She hissed as she lunged at him, hugging him. There was no poof. No black dog. Just Shigure sitting there, with Julian draped across him.  
  
They were both silent for several minutes until Julian let go of him and got to her feet, her arms folded across her chest. Shigure still looked shell-shocked as he lifted his hands up and stared at them. Julian could tell he was having a difficult time believing he really hadn't changed into a dog.  
  
"I...I don't get it. But this is amazing! Now I can hug all the pretty young girls I want!"  
  
"Until they slug you, you mean." Julian replied dryly as she glanced at him. She rolled her eyes as she glanced away, unfolding her arms so she could plant one hand on her hip.  
  
"Oh. Don't ruin my fantasy! Hey. Um, how did you know about the curse, anyway?" Shigure asked as he glanced at her in suspicion.  
  
"I know things. Trust me. Now, let's go. Sitting here isn't going to do any good. Maybe if we just wander around I'll be able to figure out where we are." Julian said, extending a hand to help pull him to his feet. He allowed her to help him to his feet, seeming to accept her vague excuse for knowing about the whole curse thing.  
  
"Just wait until Hari and everyone hears about this! They'll be so jealous!" Shigure replied with a laugh as he followed Julian down the alley, glancing around in interest.  
  
"Oh, I don't know if they'll be jealous. They'll probably think you're nuts." Julian replied with a smirk as she glanced over her shoulder at him.  
  
"No. They think that already."  
  


Nothing looked familiar yet. Julian glanced around with a frown, not sure which direction they should turn at the street corner. The only thing she did know was that while her clothing seemed to fit in with the crowd, that kimono of Shigure's had to go.  
  
"So, do you know where we are yet?" Shigure asked as she stood there, a hand gripping her chin in thought.  
  
"Nope. But I do know 2 things for sure." Julian replied finally as she glanced at him.  
  
"Oh? What?"  
  
"Well, this is some sci-fi anime. Probably a space opera. Everything's way too hi-tech looking for it to be just some school drama or something. And the other thing is that your choice of dress is making us too conspicuous." She replied as she folded her arms across her chest and stared at him.  
  
"Me? Wait. What are you suggesting?"  
  
"Well, duh. Isn't it obvious? We're going to have to find you something else to wear. "Julian replied as she eyes him slyly. He didn't look too thrilled, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Heh. Now it was her turn to have some fun.  
  
"See. That wasn't so bad. I like this look on you, by the way." Julian replied with a smirk as they left the large department store.  
  
"Yes, well, I am a good looking man." He replied as he flashed her a quick grin as he walked along beside her. He was wearing a stylish black suit with a wine colored shirt. It actually matched very well with her red and white-stripped outfit she'd gotten from Ayame. She was wearing it again that day. It had surprisingly become one of her favorites. They continued to stroll down the street, Julian narrowly missing being run over by a kid on a skateboard like contraption.  
  
"Aghh! "She yelled, hurriedly crashing into Shigure as the kid whizzed past, calling out an apology as he went.  
  
"Can't even walk down the street in this place." Julian muttered as she glared after the kid.  
  
"Yes, things do seem to be a bit different."  
  
"Well, yeah! Because they are different! "Julian snapped as she rolled her eyes. She suddenly felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she turned to find a girl with long brown hair standing behind her, a much younger girl with lavender hair with her.  
  
"Well, there you 2 are! We've been looking everywhere for you! Didn't you get the Chief's message to wait for us to come get you at the airport?" The brown haired girl asked as Shigure and Julian exchanged a glance.  
  
"Hmm. I should know these 2 girls." Julian thought as her mind drew a blank as to their identity for several minutes until it dawned on her who they were.  
  
"The Chief? The Airport? But we didn't come...ouch!" Shigure began to say until Julian elbowed him in the side.  
  
"Sorry! Must have accidentally deleted that message. Didn't mean to put you 2 to all this trouble. We'd better get back to headquarters. I'm sure Eclipse is getting tired of waiting." Julian replied with a slight smile as Shigure shot her a strange, bewildered look.  
  
"Yes, I'm afraid she's not always the most patient person." The short lavender headed girl replied as they turned and began to head back the direction they must have come from.  
  
"Come, on. Just go along with what they say. It'll be ok, I know what Anime we're in now. "Julian hissed to Shigure as she clamped a hand around his wrist.  
  
"And what anime would that be?" He whispered as she pulled him along, her steps hurried to keep up with their two guides.  
  
"Kiddy Grade. And I don't know why, but we've somehow been written into the script. I'll explain things better later. When we're alone." Julian replied, making sure to keep her voice low so only Shigure would hear her. But her low tone did nothing to mask her unease over the situation. And this all just had to come along right as she had been getting used to existing in the Fruits Basket world, too. 


	9. Making the Grade

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket or Kiddy Grade, but Julian and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.

"Ok. Tell me again where we are and what we're doing here?" Shigure whispered to Julian as they sat side by side on the couch out in the foyer outside of Chief Eclipse's office. They'd been left there just seconds ago by their 2 guides, Éclair and Lumiere, who'd said they were going to see if the Chief wanted to see them yet.  
  
Julian eyed the woman Éclair had called Mercredi for a brief moment before she leaned closer to Shigure.  
  
"I told you. We're in this anime called Kiddy Grade. We're currently on a planet named Aineias, which seems to look very similar to Earth. Right now we're at the Headquarters for the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs, a group designed to monitor and mediate economic problems between planets. It's commonly called the GOTT. Those 2 girls we were escorted here by work for the GOTT as something known as ES Members. ES stands for Encounter of Shadow-work. ES members are like secret agents in a sense. They work in teams of 2, and are ranked based on their abilities. C class, which were what our 2 guides are ranked as, as the lowest ranking ES Members. S class is the highest, with G class of course being ranked in the middle. I have no idea who they think we are, but it would be best to just go along with them. Especially since we're stranded here until we can figure out a way to get back. You're a writer. I would think you'd be able to ad-lib your way through this. "She whispered, leaning away from him as the door opened to the office and Eclair stuck her head out.  
  
"She wants to see you now." She said as Shigure and Julian stood and walked into the room. Eclipse stood staring out the window, her arms folded across her chest as we entered, Éclair pulling the door shut behind us. Inspector Armblast sat on the couch, a cup of tea in his hands. He smiled at Julian, his eyes scanning her from head to toe as they walked across the room. Lumiere was sitting on the other end of the couch, her back erect as she sipped a glass of what Julian supposed was grape juice, as she eyed them as well.  
  
"You wanted to see us, Chief Eclipse?" Julian asked, keeping her face expressionless as she and Shigure stopped in the middle of the room, waiting for her to address them.  
  
Eclipse turned from the window and glanced at us, a slight smile crossing her otherwise cool exterior.  
  
"Ah, yes. My protégé's have finally returned. I trust everything went as expected."  
  
Julian glanced at Shigure out of the corner of her eye, who was acting very much the cool, collected secret agent. Guess the man could act if need be as well.  
  
"(Wonder what she's talking about) Of Course." Julian replied; figuring a brief answer would suffice.  
  
"Excellent. I know your trip was long, so I'll be brief. "Eclipse replied as Julian nodded in appreciation. She didn't know where it was they've come from, but evidently it was far away. Hopefully far away enough that any " strange" behaviors of Shigure's or hers would be excused since they'd come from "there" Wherever that was.  
  
"Inspector Armblast, Éclair, Lumiere. Allow me to formally introduce GOTT's Y class officers. This is Quicksilver and Titanium." Eclipse announced, her voice clipped and precise. Julian plastered a cool smile on her face, trying not at act as bewildered as she felt. It was a battle she was losing. She could tell.  
  
"Y class? I thought S class was the highest rank at GOTT?" Éclair exclaimed in surprise as she glanced at us.  
  
"They are. When we're not here." Shigure announced a grin on his face. Well. Someone evidently was taking to this whole situation like a fish takes to water...  
  
"Quicksilver and Titanium have been on assignment for a long period of time. They were ES members when I was still a member. Now that they have returned, the structure of GOTT is about to change. That, however, was not my reasons for wanting to see them. Éclair, Lumiere. I have an assignment for you to complete. Quicksilver and Titanium will be accompanying you. They need to be reacquainted with the workings of the GOTT. If you'll watch the screen." Eclipse replied, gesturing at a Screen that was descending from the ceiling above her desk. An orangish, brownish, reddish planet with 3 intersecting rings appeared on the screen.  
  
"This is the planet Alora. A backward society, it repeatedly denies the evolutionary changes of Technology. This makes it an ideal hotspot of the black market. Apparently, a shipment of Chlorophosfaphane has disappeared from the GU warehouse. "Eclipse said, pausing here as she glanced at Armblast.  
  
"Why, don't look at me. I haven't any idea in the slightest what happened to it. I didn't even know it was missing." He protested a sly smile on his face. Now that Julian thought about it, he reminded her of Shigure slightly. That might not prove to be the best combination.  
  
"Yes, well. We've received some information confirming that this Chlorophosfaphane has been located on Alora. Your mission is to go retrieve it. That is all." Eclipse added, clicking a button on the tiny remote she held. The screen rose back into the ceiling.  
  
"Yes ma'am. We'll get right on it." Éclair replied a grin on her face.  
  
"It can wait until morning. You can leave then. Here." Eclipse said, tossing a key to Julian. She caught it, a slight frown on her face.  
  
"The key to your apartment. Éclair and Lumiere will show you where it is. Dismissed. "Eclipse replied, turning to stare out the window again. Éclair gestured to Julian and Shigure, Lumiere getting to her feet. They followed her from the room, the door soon slamming behind the 4. Armblast took another sip of his tea, before he glanced up at Eclipse.  
  
"This Quicksilver and Titanium. They acted a bit...out of it. Wouldn't you say?" he asked as he sat his cup down on the table.  
  
"Perhaps. "Eclipse replied, keeping her back to him.  
  
"Yes, well, maybe it is because they've been gone for so long. Where did you say they were again?"  
  
"I didn't say. That's classified information. "Eclipse said, her voice cool.  
  
"I see. If I may ask, what makes those 2 worthy of such a high rating as Y class members? They must have some pretty awe inspiring abilities to have that rank." Armblast replied, eyeing her shrewdly.  
  
"So it will seem. I suppose you'll need to find that out on your own. Now, don't you have some place to be?" Eclipse replied her voice cold.  
  
"Of course." Armblast replied with a calculating smile as he got up and bowed mockingly in her direction, before leaving.  
  
Eclipse turned away from the window as she heard the door shut, her expression unreadable.  
  
"Hmm. Yes. Everyone shall see soon why they are the Y class officers. The ONLY Y class officers." Eclipse mummered to herself before she walked to her desk and sat down, pushing the intercom button on her desk.  
  
"Mercredi. Page Dextera and Sinistra. I want to see them."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
  
  
"I'm still confused." Shigure announced once he and Julian were alone in their apartment that after noon, Éclair and Lumiere long gone.  
  
"Join the crowd, Shigure. Or should I say Titanium. You know, if I was a drinking woman, I'd want more than a shot of Vodka right about now. I'd want the whole bottle. Y class members. That's not even in the regular story line. But we do have pretty cool codenames, I suppose. " Julian replied with a sigh as she dropped down on the couch in the living room.  
  
"Uh, what is this ES member stuff, anyway? I mean, if we're ES members or whatever, what do we actually do?" Shigure asked her, throwing his jacket over the back of one of the dinette chairs.  
  
"We're like agents or something. You know. The people who protect the good guy, or whatever. You're a writer. Use your imagination. Oh, and so it doesn't freak you out, as ES Members, we're supposed to have these special powers or something. See, that's how GOTT determined what class the ES Members are. So, if we're top dog here or whatever, than I bet we've got some pretty awesome abilities. Whatever they are. "Julian replied as she propped her feet up on the end of the couch, an arm thrown over her face.  
  
"Well, if we're here for an indefinite period of time, I'm sure we'll find out." Shigure replied after a brief silence as he glanced around the apartment. If those 2 other girls had been any indication, he and Julian must have been given a pretty upscale apartment. It was nice enough. But it wasn't home.  
  
"...I wish I had a paper." Shigure finally said with a sigh as Julian began to laugh, though at that moment, she was feeling anything but jovial.  
  
"When I finally see Trent, I'm gonna kill him. "She muttered as she closed her eyes.  
  
  
  
Well, here it finally is! Sorry I took so long to update. I've been on vacation. ;) Anyway, thanks to all you who reviewed! KerriCarri, Body by Gen, Myu Higurashi, and Samika!  
  
KerriCarri- Yeah, it is pretty cool that Trent can see them. But it makes me wonder (and I wrote this, which is pretty sad, lol), how Julian got trapped in her dvd player in the first place. Hmm. I'll have to think about that. Oh. And if you want some info on Kiddy Grade, check out their website, www.kiddygrade.tv/. Sorry, I didn't think about people not being familiar with the different anime's and manga's I'm going to end up using, I'll make sure to include a link to a good site about the particular series!  
  
Body by Gen- Glad ya think it's interesting! I will say one thing though; it's easier to write fan fiction on Anime series you've seen all the episodes for, lol. But maybe that's just me.  
  
My Higurashi- I thought about Inuyasha. I'm not sure yet whether they'll go there. Anyway, here's the update, see! I didn't forget about it or my expectant fans! Lol.  
  
Samika- Yep, you guessed right! They get to work with Éclair and Lumiere! This particular episode if it exsisted, would fall somewhere between episodes 6 and 9.  
  
Well, until next time! 


	10. Planes, trains, and automobiles

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket or Kiddy Grade, but Julian and Trent are mine!Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.

  
"Shigure. Hey. Wake up. Come on. We don't have all day." Julian said as she shock Shigure's shoulder, sighing in exasperation as he mumbled something and turned his back to her on the couch where he'd been sleeping.  
  
"For the love of..." Julian muttered as she stalked into the kitchen and grabbed an empty glass off the counter, turning the tap on. She proceeded to fill the glass with water, turning it off before she stalked back into the living room. She stopped as she stood over Shigure, the glass tilted dangerously to the side.  
  
"SHIGURE!!! I said to wake up! "She yelled, dumping the contents of the glass over his head. The water, however, instantly vaporized half an inch from his head. Her eyes wide, Julian looked at the glass. She dumped several droplets out into her palm, those droplets vaporizing before they hit her skin as well.  
  
"Uh...that was interesting. "Julian stated in surprise as she blinked a few times.  
  
Shigure turned over and mumbled something as he lifted a hand to rub his eyes. His eyes finally fluttered open and a goofy smile settled over his face as he looked at her.  
  
"Ah! My love! "He declared suddenly, springing up to grab her.  
  
"AGHHHHHHH!!!!! Let go of me, you twit!!" Julian yelled as she flushed in embarrassment, slapping at his arm as she pulled away.  
  
"Huh? What?" Shigure asked, looking confused. Julian rolled her eyes.  
  
"Would you get up?! We're supposed to go to some planet with Éclair and Lumiere, remember? You're not at HOME, Shigure." Julian replied as she planted her hands on her hips and glared at him.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. That's right. It's all coming back to me now." He replied with a stupid grin as he got to his feet and headed for the bathroom to change out of his Kimono and back into his new suit.  
  
"Men. They're so stupid sometimes." Julian muttered as she shock her head and headed for the Kitchen. This day was going to prove to be interesting. She just knew it.

  
  
"This is just a bad joke, right?" Shigure muttered later that morning as he sat behind the controls of a High- Speed Cruiser, which was something like a space ship. He gripped the controls in a death grip, his knuckles white.  
  
"I forgot to mention this yesterday, didn't I." Julian said from where sat at the back of the flight deck, her legs crossed as she rested comfortably on the velvet couch.  
  
"Forgot to mention it?! Maybe just a bit. What do they expect me to do?! I'm a writer! Not a pilot! "Shigure whined in panic.  
  
"Don't say that out loud! They don't know that! You're Titanium, remember?! A Y class ES Member with GOTT. This is our Ship, Lithium. You're supposed to know how to fly it. "  
  
"But Julian! I'm NOT really any of those things. So I don't know how to fly this thing! I mean, I could try, but you just don't seem like the type who has a death wish or anything! "  
  
"It doesn't look that complicated. Maybe there's an auto pilot." Julian said as she got up and walked over to where he sat and leaned over his shoulder. She scanned the control panel for a minute in silence, her blank expression quickly changing to an angry scowl.  
  
"I...I can't believe this. Nothing is even frickin' marked! "Julian exclaimed, feeling frazzled all of a sudden. Not to mention a bit worried. What was she going to do if they couldn't fly this? What would happen then? Would they be thrown in Jail? And if they were, would she ever see Trent again? Or would they just rot in some anime jail cell forever?!  
  
"Over my dead body." Julian muttered in determination.  
  
"What's over your dead body?" Shigure asked, looking confused as the radio squawked and crackled to life.  
  
"Are you set? We need to leave." Éclair's voice said over the radio.  
  
Julian pushed the button under the red flashing light, praying it was the radio she was turning on.  
  
"Uh...yeah. We're just waiting for you to give the go ahead. We're here to follow your lead after all." Julian replied, forcing a chipper laugh at the end of her sentence as Shigure stared at her as if she'd grown another head.  
  
"Right. We're leaving in 5." Éclair said, the light going dim.  
  
"What are you thinking?!" Shigure hissed at her, his eyes wide. He wasn't acting like himself, but Julian supposed that was to be expected.  
  
"I am NOT getting thrown in jail for impersonating an ES Member. Now move. I'm going to figure out how to fly this baby." Julian replied stubbornly as she pushed Shigure aside.  
  
"But you ARE impersonating an ES Member." Shigure dryly reminded her as he moved. Julian sat in the pilot's chair he'd just vacated, not looking up at him.  
  
"Yes, I know. Now, unless you can say something helpful, be quiet. I have only 3.5 minutes to figure this out. Man. I wish flying this thing was like driving a car." Julian muttered as she studied the control panel.  
  
"A car? You mean, like with a steering wh...eel." Shigure said, his voice trailing off as the panel disappeared, a dashboard from a car in its place.  
  
"Uh...thanks. I guess." Julian muttered, a surprised frown on her face as she grabbed the steering wheel.  
  
"...I think I may pass out now." Shigure muttered weakly, a blank look on his face as he scratched his head.  
  
"Yeah. Well, whatever. Just buckle up first. Anyway, lets get this show...hey, wait! There's no frigin' key!! Where's the key, Shigure?!" Julian wailed as she threw her hands up in panic.  
  
"How am I supposed to know? I don't even know how I did THAT." Shigure replied, acting flustered as he gestured wildly at the control panel.  
  
Julian felt tears of frustration forming in the corners of her eyes. They were down to one minute now. One minute. Suddenly she felt a warm sensation in the palm of her hand and looked down to see a key in her hand. A car key.  
  
"A...a.... a...MIRACLE!!! I have the key!! Praise be to God!! "She shouted in jubliation as she stuck the key in the ignition, turning the key. The ship roared to life then, the boost from the main thrusters as they lit up causing the ship to shutter.  
  
"And we have go!! "Julian announced with a grin as she grabbed the throttle and shifted into drive, slamming her foot down on the gas petal. The ship shot forward, tearing through the docking channel at break neck speed. Shigure was thrown off his feet by the sudden movement, his body turning a somersault in the air before he was slammed into the wall.  
  
"J...Julian! I think maybe you could slow down. Just a little." He said, his teeth rattling as he fought to make his way to the couch and strap himself in.  
  
"Oh. Sorry. I do have a tendency to speed. Mom always said I had a lead foot." Julian said with a sheepish grin as they burst out into the darkness of space, a flash of silver followed by the red fire from the thrusts. She let up on the gas and slowed down, but not by much.  
  
"A tendency to speed? Is that what she calls this? I'm going to die." Shigure muttered.  
  


Éclair, Lumiere, and Armblast watched from the La Muse as the Lithium screamed past, all three shocked into silence.  
  
"I thought they said they were waiting to follow your lead." Armblast said, sounding a bit dazed as they stared after the silver flash that was the Lithuim.  
  
"I don't think they even know where they're going. "Éclair muttered, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.  
  
"Well, evidently not. Alora isn't in that direction, after all. Where did Chief Eclipse say they'd been?" Lumiere asked.  
  
"She didn't say." Éclair and Armblast both replied dryly.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Julian finally found the auto-pilot program on the Lithium after they'd gotten under way, switching it on, She got up and wondered back to where Shigure was gripping the couch in a death grip after she'd done so, sitting next to him. She crossed her legs as she did so, her hands intertwined behind her head.  
  
"See. I told you it wouldn't be that hard to figure out." She said with a grin as she closed her eyes.  
  
"Oh? Really?" Shigure asked her in skepticism, a faint, though none the less strained, smile on his face.  
  
"Yes really. A piece of cake."  
  
"Yes, well, whatever you say, Julian. You know, I'm beginning to wonder what purpose we're going to end up serving on this planet we're going to. What is Chlorophosfaphane, anyway?" Shigure said with a sigh as he pushed a hand through his hair nervously.  
  
"How would I know. I don't think it's anything really. The writer of this episode probably made it up. We are in an anime, you know. "Julian replied with a laborious sigh as she leaned forward and massaged her neck with one hand. Shigure nodded as he leaned back, one leg resting on top of the other.  
  
"...How long do you think we've been gone from home?" He finally asked her after a brief period of silence.  
  
"We've been here only a day. So hopefully we've not been gone long. Everyone's coming home in 5 days, right? Let's hope we're back by then. Because I really don't want the fun of explaining where it was that we've been. (I have enough problems as it is. It'd be just what I needed if Hatori thought I was insane or something.) Julian replied as she exchanged a meaningful look with Shigure.  
  
"We could tell them we decided to go away for the weekend. For some fun and romance." Shigure suggested with a grin as Julian rolled her eyes.  
  
"Right. They'd probably believe we'd been sucked into an anime before that."  
  
Sorry I took so long to update. I've been busy. Thanks for all my reviews. I'd thank you individually, but I accidentally deleted my e-mails. Anyway, enjoy.  
  
Oh. And for those of you who made the remarks about this being a crossover, and why didn't I post in the crossover section...I have my reasons. This fic is a crossover, but the actual story is set in the Fruba world. They may not be there very often, but the fruba chara are recurring chara, and there are breif interludes from the fruba world. As you'll be able to read in the next chapter after this. Besides. This is my story. I can do as I like. He he he.... 


	11. Interlude 2 Time Zones

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket or Kiddy Grade, but Julian and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  
  


"Shigure! Julian! Hello? Is anyone here?" Yuki called as he walked into the house late on Sunday afternoon, followed by Tohru and Kyo. The school trip had been...um...interesting to say the least. And Yuki was glad that except for that one time, he and Kyo had been able to keep the Sohma family secret. True, that one exception to that statement had nearly cost him his life, but no one was the wiser. At least...no one who didn't know about them before knew now. All things considering though, Yuki had decided to stay away from co-ed swimming. It was just better that way.  
  
"Yeah. Like move, stupid rat! They ain't here. Obviously. "Kyo snapped as he shoved past Yuki and stalked down the hall toward the kitchen, his bag forgotten in the hall.  
  
"Don't just leave your stuff in the middle of the hall, you lazy cat." Yuki yelled after him, though he was ignored. "I wonder where they've gone?" Yuki muttered to himself as he stepped aside.  
  
"Maybe they went to go get something to eat or something. Though I thought we had told Shigure what time we'd be back. "Tohru said, a worried frown on her face.  
  
"Well, perhaps. Maybe they've just gone for a walk. I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about. I'm sure they'll be back in several hours at the..." Yuki was saying when a yell from the kitchen interrupted him.  
  
"Hey! There ain't no milk! Or bread! Or anything else for that manner! What the heck!! "Kyo yelled. Yuki and Tohru glanced at each other as they heard the refrigerator slam shut. They both hurried for the kitchen then, their suitcases left in the entryway.  
  
They entered the kitchen to find Kyo searching through the cupboards as he grumbled under his breath. Evidently his search wasn't bearing much fruit if the slamming of the doors was any indication.  
  
"There should be milk here at least. I left them a shopping list. And I don't see it anywhere." Tohru said as she walked over and opened the refrigerator, glancing inside. It looked pretty empty. As empty as it had been when they'd left almost a week ago. Oddly enough, though, the stew and strawberry pie she had left for Shigure and Julian were still there as well. Untouched.  
  
"Well, that's odd. The stew I left is still here. It's like they left the same day as we did and haven't been back since. You don't think something terrible has happened to them, do you?" Tohru asked in panic as she shut the fridge and began to wring her hands.  
  
"Shigure?! He's too stupid to let something terrible to happen to him." Kyo said with a snort as he leaned across the counter, his arms folded across his chest.  
  
"...Let's wait a couple of hours. They may just be out, or perhaps they'll call. Maybe they went to stay at the main house...or the lake house. Though I wouldn't know why. If we don't hear from them, I'll call Hatori." Yuki said as he glanced at his watch. It was 2 then. He'd give them until 5 or so.  
  
"See. I told you something was weird about that Julian chick. She'd probably an axe murderer. "Kyo said with a smirk as Tohru's eyes grew as wide as saucers. Yuki sighed and closed his eyes as he shook his head. Really. They could both be so ridiculous.

He he...guess the only being gone for 1 day was wishful thinking on someone's part... Enjoy! Look for the next update in about a week or so.


	12. Gone, Like Yesterday is Gone, Like Al Pa...

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket or Kiddy Grade, but Julian and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.

"You know. This isn't what I was expecting. For some reason, when I heard the name Alora, I thought this planet would be lush. And green. A beautiful island paradise with brilliant aquamarine water. And white sandy beaches. But no. That would be too easy. Still, my deductive reasoning must be working a little still, since I got the part about the sand right. But it's not smooth, white sand. No. It's orange...and it's everywhere. Every where I look, there's sand. Nothing else. Just sand. And more sand. And hey look folks, there's some sand over there too! It's like being trapped in the Sahara desert or something. Actually, there's only one place where there isn't any sand. In my mouth, as it were. But with a couple more of these freak Sand Storms, I'm sure that's bound to change as well. "Julian muttered to herself as she trudged after Éclair, Lumiere and Shigure through the miserable heat and sand, stopping for a moment to flick some sweat off her forehead.  
  
"You know, you and I are still close enough to the ships that we could turn around and go back. I'm sure by the time they missed us; they'd be too far away to make the trek back for us. "Armblast told Julian as he sided up to her, a sly smile on his face. Julian glanced at him in silence for a few minutes before she smiled pleasantly at him.  
  
"I'd rather eat sand, if it's all the same to you. From the looks of things, I think it would be readily available, wouldn't you agree? Besides, don't you have a job to do as well, Mr. Inspector? Or should I say Wizard?" Julian told him, lowering her voice as she eyed him in sly amusement.  
  
"And how do you know my codename, Miss Quicksilver?" he asked her. He didn't seem too angry, merely curious.  
  
"Oh, I have my way's of finding out information. You'd be surprised. (Especially if I told that the reason I know is because you're just a character from some anime I watch at home)" Julian replied with a ghost of a smile as they continued walking.  
  
"Do you? How interesting. Tell me. Is that you're power as an ES Member, perhaps?"  
  
"What? Oh, not at all (at least, I don't think so). You'll simply have to find out my abilities on your own like everyone else. It's no fair to ask me to tell you. (But when you do find out, it would be nice if you'd let me know you're discoveries.) "Julian replied as she gave him a coy look.  
  
"Hmm. So I see. Well, I'll be watching you with baited breath then." Armblast replied, a suave smile on his face.  
  
"You do that. All I ask is that you use plenty of mouth wash." Julian quipped as she lengthened her strides, hurrying to catch up with Shigure and the 2 girls. Armblast watched her walk off with a slight grin on his face before he paused. He lifted his hand to cover his nose and exhaled into his hand, his face puzzled as he pulled his hand away.  
  
"Well, I don't have bad breath. I wonder why she said that?"  
  


1 day later.  
  
Julian glanced around the room in skepticism, her arms folded across her chest.  
  
"Explain to me again why you and I are the one's posing as warehouse workers." She hissed at Shigure as she leaned on the handle of her broom, hot and sweaty from the heavy brown jumpsuit she wore.  
  
"Well, someone needed to check these warehouses for that stolen Chlorophsofaphate. I figured this should be easy enough for us to do. Since we're not really ES members you know." Shigure replied with a grin as he shrugged. Julian glanced around the drab area they were in before she glanced back at Shigure, her expression unreadable.  
  
"Actually, we are ES members, remember? According to this script, anyway. You have a power called Alter, and mine's called Create. You can alter any element, compound, or mixture into any other element, compound, or mixture at the sub-atomic layer. That's why the control panel in the ship changed from a regular control panel to a steering wheel. I on the other hand, can control or create any element, compound, or mixture down to the sub-atomic level. That explains the key. Get it? Anyway though, back to what we were discussing. We don't know what that stupid Chlorophsofafane even is, or what it looks like." Julian said as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"...But I got a picture, see?" Shigure replied, whipping out a wrinkled picture with a flourish. Julian cocked an eyebrow as she took the picture, staring at the image of 3 metal tubes bearing faint GU markings. She looked up after a minute, giving Shigure a hard look.  
  
"Don't you think it's possible that they...I don't know...TOOK THEM OUT of those containers?!" She snapped, her voice rising a bit in anger.  
  
"Well, yeah. But Chlorophsofafane has to be kept cold. So it would be stored in some type of refrigeration unit." He replied with a casual wave of his hand.  
  
"...How do you know that?!" Julian hissed as she moved her foot as a huge, brown rat scurried past, wrinkling her nose in disgust.  
  
"I read it in the file." Shigure announced with a shrug.  
  
"...You know, this is stupid. We should have just laid low. Tried to find a way home. But no! We end up being dragged into the freaking storyline! It's not fair. I want to go home." Julian gripped as she began to sweep the floor with the broom again.  
  
"But...I don't turn into a dog here." Shigure muttered, a sad look on his face.  
  
Julian continued to sweep in silence for a minute, waiting for another worker to walk past before she opened her mouth to reply. "Who really cares if you turn into a dog. Does that make you less of a man? You're a person aren't you? It's better to be something different, than something ordinary. You're not like everybody else. When you're like everybody else, that's boring."  
  
Shigure stopped in mid-sweep and stared at her, his expression unreadable. "So. Are you saying you wouldn't mind being cursed? He asked as he cocked an eyebrow.  
  
Julian stared at him, a flush coloring her face and neck. (Think. Come on, think! You got yourself into this mess. Now talk your way out of it.) "Uh, well, uh...I didn't mean that exactly...,"she said, her sentence drifting off as the comlink began to vibrate in her pocket. (Score! Saved by the bell) Julian handed her broom to Shigure as she pulled the vibrating com- link from her pocket, glancing around quickly before she ducked behind some crates and flipped the cover open.  
  
"This is Juli...uh, I mean Quicksilver." She said, her eyes wide as she realized that she'd nearly told them her real name. Which was something an ES Member would not have known anymore.  
  
"Éclair here. We got a lead. You 2 can turn in the brooms and come meet us here at the LaMuse." Eclair said, her voice full of static as it crackled.  
  
"Got it." Julian hissed, flipping the cover closed with her thumb. She glanced at Shigure when she was finished, a grin on her face.  
  
"Come on. Our work here is done."  
  


Meanwhile, 5 more days have passed since Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru had returned from their class trip.  
  
Hatori stood on the porch outside of Shigure's office, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he stared out into the yard. He could see Shigure's editor stomping down the path to the house and he momentarily closed his eyes, taking a long drag on his cigarette before they snapped open, an irate gleam to them.  
  
"Um, Hatori...Have you decided what you're going to do about this yet? If Shigure's gown much longer...Akito's going to find out." Yuki said as he stopped in the doorway, his face expressionless.  
  
"Yes I know. You need to get to door. Shigure's editor is here." Hatori replied flatly as he pulled his cigarette from his mouth. He exhaled as he flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette, slanting a look in Yuki's direction.  
  
"Me? But...what am I supposed to tell her?" Yuki asked as he frowned.  
  
" I don't care. Tell her anything." Hatori replied as he stuck his cigarette back in his mouth as someone knocked on the front door.  
  
Sighing, Yuki pushed away from the doorway and turned to head for the front door, pulling it open to find Mei waiting on the other side.  
  
"Good afternoon. You must be looking for Shigure." Yuki replied, giving Mei a faint smile as he opened the door a bit wider, hoping he was doing a good job masking his panic.  
  
"Yes. Is he here? His deadline is in 5 days. I need his manuscript." Mei said, twisting her hands together in nervous anticipation.  
  
"Um, well..." Yuki began to say when Kyo came to the door, shoving him aside.  
  
"If you're lookin' for Shigure, he's not here. He skipped town 10 days ago with his girlfriend." Kyo announced before he slammed the door, leaving a stunned Mei standing on the porch in silence. She blinked rapidly several times before she fell to her knee's, wailing in panic.  
  
"SHIGURE!?! Why do you do these things to me?!"  
  
Hatori rolled his eyes with a sigh as he heard her yelling, taking another drag on his cigarette. Fine mess Shigure had gotten himself into now. And Kyo didn't help matters just then either.  
  
  
  
Julian and Shigure had been trekking back to the LaMuse through the heat and sand when Shigure suddenly stopped, an odd look on his face.  
  
"What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" Julian asked as she turned to look at him, a questing frown on her face.  
  
"I...suddenly had this...bad feeling. I think we may have been gone for much longer than 2 days," He said as he looked at her.  
  
Julian stared at him silence for a few minutes, her lips pursed as she studied him. "You enjoy being the bearer of bad tidings, don't you." She said with a sigh as she placed her hands on the small of her back and stretched.  
  
"...Sorry." Shigure said sheepishly as they resumed walking, though he wasn't exactly sure what HE was apologizing for.  
  
"It's fine. You'd just better start thinking of some REALLY good reasons why we've been gone. Because as I said yesterday, telling them we'd been sucked into an anime OR that we were away on a romantic weekend is NOT an option."  
  


Julian left Shigure talking with Éclair and Lumiere when they finally reached the ship and went off in search of the bathroom, finally finding it. It was small and cramped, like the bathroom on an airplane.  
  
"Can't they even build these things big enough so I can at least move?" Julian muttered as she turned the water on, splashing it on her face to get some of the dust from the sand off. She glanced up into the mirror as she patted her face dry, he heart nearly stopping as she saw Trent's face staring back at her.  
  
"Eaghhhhhhhh! "She screamed without thinking, backing into the wall.  
  
"Geez! Julian! You don't need to yell. I can hear you just fine." Trent said dryly as he fiddled with one of his beads around his dread, a grin on his face.  
  
"What's the matter with you?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?! You could have at least said something, you know!"  
  
"And miss that priceless reaction? Never." He replied with a snicker.  
  
"If I could get to you, I'd smack that smirk so far into next year you'd never find your face again." She hissed as she narrowed her eyes menacingly.  
  
"Quicksilver? Are you alright?" She heard Armblast ask as he knocked on the door, presumably waiting for her reply.  
  
"I'd forgotten about them." She muttered under her breath." I'm fine! " She called as she glared at Trent, her arms folded across her chest.  
  
"Oh, well, alright then. "Armblast said. Julian continued to glare at Trent in silence as she listened to Armblast's steps fade away, not daring to speak until she was sure she wouldn't be overheard.  
  
"Trent Callahan! I'm going to murder you if I ever get back there! You could have at least TOLD me what dvd you were putting in! I don't like surprises, remember?!" She hissed at him as she folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"I thought you LIKED Kiddy Grade?" Trent asked defensively.  
  
"I DO like Kiddy Grade! But unlike Fruits Basket, it's not some place I'd want to...visit! And as you saw, I had an uninvited guest with me! How do you explain to one anime character that's he's just been sucked into a DIFFERENT anime?!"  
  
"Seems you did a pretty good job to me."  
  
"Whatever! Just put the fruits basket dvd back in! I'll get him home, and then you can send me to someplace else. Alone. Maybe if I travel to each Anime Series I own, I'll get spit out of the dvd payer or something."  
  
"Uh...but I can't just stay up all night and switch anime's for you every half hour. I have class in the morning. And then I got to work. "Trent said as he frowned at her.  
  
"...Then just send me back to the Fruits Basket world. I can stay there until you come back after work. "  
  
"Won't your neighbours wonder who I am? I could ruin your reputation, you know."  
  
"If anyone asks, I went...uh...out of the country, and you're watching my apartment for me and feeding my cat. You WILL remember to feed Sam, right?" Julian said, fixing him with a level stare.  
  
"Sure. No prob. Now, you just go get Shigure, while I switch DVD's, and I'll see you tomorrow at about 5pm our time, got it?" Trent said with a cheesy grin as he stepped out of sight.  
  
"Got it! See ya! "Julian replied, hurriedly banging out the door. She hurried to the bridge, where Shigure stood talking with Éclair and Lumiere still.  
  
"Hey. Shigure! We got to go! "She said as she latched onto his arm, pulling him towards the hatch of the ship, figuring it was better for them to disappear in the desert. Maybe Éclair and Lumiere would think a sand monster got them or something.  
  
"Huh? What? "Shigure said as she pulled him along, looking confused until he began to feel the effects of Trent changing the DVD.  
  
"We're going home." Julian said between clenched teeth as everything turned gray, ignoring the shouts from Éclair, Lumiere, and Armblast.  
  
"...Home..." Shigure mummered before they disappeared from sight.  
  
"...Uh...where'd they go?" Éclair asked in confusion as Shigure and Julian suddenly disappeared, stopping short at the end of the hatch, Armblast bumping into her.  
  
"Well. This should be an interesting report." He hissed in her ear, his breath tickling her face.  
  
"..."

Hallelujah!!! I'm free of the Kiddy Grade Anime!!! Next Couple chapters will be in the Fruba world. Mainly because I can't find (grr!!!) The paper I'd written down on who gets to go to which anime. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. It got a...bit long. He he.  
  
Special thanks to my reviewers!! I love to get reviews.  
  
KerriCarrie- Yeah, I was originally going to have the days equal each other, but I was getting tired of Kiddy Grade, and I had that part with Mei above that I wanted to use, so I upped the time difference. And if ya saw, they're gone from the Kiddy Grade world finally. I has having issues with the premise of what was going on, lol. And anything happening that I want to happen in the story? Yeah, well Anime's kinda like that. Case in point would be R.O.D the TV series. It's a cool series though, by the way.  
  
Samika-Yeah, I tried to explain it above. If the stupid story line would have gone the way I wanted it too, people would have actually gotten to see Shigure and Julian the Y class members in action...but...he he he.  
  
Sensei Tora-san-Glad you liked it so much. I try to update faithfully, but...sometimes that doesn't happen, he he.  
  
Lhuntathraeil- Sure thing! Here's a second helping, lol. By the way...I was wondering. Is there a story or anything behind your penname? It's cool and original...


	13. Cleanup in Aisle 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.

"Something can be learned from this." Julian stated as she braced her hands on her knees and bent over slightly so she could stare into Shigure's face, an amused grin on her face.  
  
"And what would that be?" Shigure muttered from where he was sprawled on the floor of the grocery store, bags of chips and pretzels scattered across the floor. They'd appeared in the grocery store when Trent had changed dvd's for whatever reason, and Shigure had been unable to stop himself in mid-run, crashing into the metal rack of snacks that had been standing at the end of aisle 5. Had been. It wasn't any longer, since it was lying on the floor on its side.  
  
"Why, I would have thought it would be perfectly clear. We shouldn't run in grocery stores. Because things like this happens." She announced, cocking an eyebrow at him as she grinned.  
  
"Do I need to remind you it was you who'd been running first? "He mummered under his breath as Julian extended a hand to help him to his feet. 2 little girls ran around the corner then, bumping into Julian as they ran off in giggles.  
  
"Uh..." She managed to exclaim as she lost her balance, slamming into Shigure. There was a puff of purplish/black smoke, but Julian ignored it as she felt her wrist snap as she tried to brace herself with her hand.  
  
"Yeeoowww!" She screeched, her voice sounding several octaves higher than normal as a store clerk hurried around the corner then.  
  
"Oh! Are you all right, miss? Let me help you...is that a dog?" The man asked as he helped Julian into a sitting position, glancing over her shoulder to see a large black dog sitting there.  
  
"Uh...you...bad dog! How'd you get in here?" She said, tears of pain pooling in the corners of her eyes as she forced a smile, whacking the dog lightly on the head with her good hand. The dog whined and backed away as Julian allowed the clerk to help her to her feet, her teeth gritted against the pain in her wrist.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry. I...just don't know what got into him. Shi-chan is normally such a well-behaved dog." She ground out between gritted teeth, her vision swimming as she grabbed onto the tie around the dog's neck. Thank God the clerk hadn't seen that too. It would be really difficult to explain why the dog was wearing a tie if he had.  
  
"It's ok...huh. I wonder where those clothes came from?" The clerk said as he glanced down at the rumpled suit lying on the floor, scratching his head.  
  
"(Oh no) I...I wouldn't know. Must have been what I tripped on. Well, I should take Shi...I mean, my dog and leave. Have a nice day." Julian said as she hurriedly turned away, screaming silently as se hurried from the store, pulling the dog after her. She released the hold she had on the tie when they were out side, turning to head to the left. She must have been going in the right direction, since "her dog" didn't say anything or act weird. She mechanically forced her legs to move, her teeth gritted against the pain in her wrist, which had already swollen to twice its normal size.  
  
"Shi-chan?" The dog questioned her once they were on the path that lead to the house, trotting by her side as the black silk tie it wore waved back and forth with every step he took.  
  
"It's better than spot, isn't it?!" She hissed as she turned to face him, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"I su...what's wrong? Did I...did I hurt your feelings?" he asked her, a blank look on his furry doggy face. (If dogs can get blank looks, that is.)  
  
"No! I broke my wrist when I fell!" She snapped as him as she used her uninjured arm to wipe off her face.  
  
"Oh! I didn't know. We'll call Hatori when we get back to the house. He can set it for you."  
  
"SHIGURE?! Have you forgotten we've been gone? If we've been gone for a long period of time, I'm sure Hatori is probably already there!" She hissed as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"You've got a point." The dog replied as he tilted his head to the side.  
  
"This is a fine kettle of fish we've gotten into! Now I have to explain why you're a dog too! And then they'll know I found out the big Sohma family secret! And Hatori will have to tell Akito! Things couldn't GET any worse! "She exclaimed, throwing her injured arm up in exasperation.  
  
The dog sat and stared at her for a few minutes until there was a puff of purplish/black smoke again. Shigure stood there when it cleared, butt naked except for the tie. Whole lot of good IT did!!!  
  
"Aghhhh!!! Things CAN get worse! "Julian wailed as she clamped her eyes shut.  
  
"...And you said being cursed was better than being ordinary."  
  
"So I was wrong!? Sue me! And get YOUR naked butt off the path! No one wants to see that!" She yelled. She could feel tears forming in her tightly closed eyes as she stood there, her good fist squeezed in to a fist. And those weren't tears of physical pain, either. Well, maybe they were...but they weren't from her broken wrist. THAT she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt.  
  


Yeah, this chappie is kinda short, but oh well. The next chappie will be up in a couple days. I'll be responding to all the reviews at the end of that one, cause I'm tired! Peace out!!!!! 


	14. Ah! The Sweet Scent of Garbage

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  
  
  
  
Julian paced back and forth in the lane as she thought, not daring to glance at the place where Shigure was crouched in the bushes, butt naked. How did these things happen to her? Why did they happen to her?! She didn't understand. It wasn't fair.  
  
"What are we going to do?! "She whined as she dropped to her knees in the middle of the path, tears of frustration stinging the corners of her eyes.  
  
"...Why don't you go see if you can find me something to wear? The grocery...maybe they threw out my suit." Shigure suggested from his spot in the bushes, his tone hopeful.  
  
"Maybe. I haven't thought of anything better." Julian muttered as she got to her feet again, turning to head back into town. She stopped suddenly and turned back to glare at Shigure, pointing her finger at him.  
  
"You'd better stay there! It would be just great if someone saw you and you got arrested for public indecency! "She yelled, her injured arm resting in the sling she'd made with Shigure's tie. He'd thrown it over to her after he'd planted himself in the bushes, saying he didn't need it.  
  
"...If this is too much trouble for you, you could just hug me and turn me into a dog again."  
  
Julian stared at him like he'd grown another head in silence, an eyebrow cocked in skepticism. "Are you insane? You're naked. I don't hug naked men. It's a policy of mine. Just stay there. I'll be back." She said flatly, turning and walking away without a backward glance.  
  
Shigure watched her walk away before he ducked down into the bushes again.  
  
"I hope she hurries. I think there may be poison ivy in this bush." He muttered, wrapping his arms around himself. It was a bit chilly out. And it looked like rain.  
  
  
  
It took a little work for Julian to find the alley behind the grocery store, but find it she did. She saw one of the clerks's for the grocery store dumping trash when she peaked around the corner and a pleased grin flittered across her face.  
  
"Yes! His suit better be in there!!" She muttered as she hurried over to the dumpster after the clerk went back inside, pushing the lid up with her good arm. She peaked in and gagged from the stench; dismayed to see the bin was already ¾ of the way full.  
  
"Great. "She muttered, all her hopes more or less dashed to pieces as she dragged a sturdy looking crate over to the bin. She stepped gingerly up onto the crate and took a deep breath, leaning down into the bin. She picked threw the trash on top as she looked for Shigure's suit. The stench was horrible and she had to come up for air several times as she rummaged through the garbage, becoming annoyed as her search was fruitless.  
  
"This is a nightmare." She mummered in frustration as she pawed through the trash, shoving her hand into a half full container of gooey yogurt.  
  
"Sick!!" She exclaimed as she pulled her hand free, wrinkling her nose as she shook her hand, trying to dislodge the slimy substance. Suddenly she heard the window overhead creak open and she looked up as a young woman dumped a basin of water out the window, her mouth falling open in appalled horror as the water hit her with a splash.  
  
"Mai! You should be more careful. What if someone was down there?" Julian heard a guy say as the lady turned from the window.  
  
"Oh, it's ok. No one was down there." The woman replied nonchalantly, shutting the window as Julian glared up at the window in fury. No one down there her butt!! What was SHE?! Nothing?!  
  
"What have I done to deserve this?!" She muttered as she stepped off the crate and squished off, soaked from head to toe. Today wasn't going well.  
  


It was dusk by the time Julian reappeared with an armload of clothes for Shigure, dumping them on the bush as she stalked off, sitting beneath a tree on the other side of the path.  
  
"There. There's your dang clothes. You'd better appreciate all the trouble I went through to get those for you! "She grumbled as Shigure's hand snaked out of the bush, grabbing the clothing and pulling them in to the bush.  
  
"Thanks. It's a bit cold out here. They're a bit snug, but they'll work. Thank you. Um, where'd you get these from anyway?" He asked after a few minutes, stepping out into the path as he buttoned up the last several buttons on the shirt.  
  
"I stole them off of some lady's clothes line." Julian muttered darkly as she wrinkled her nose. She still smelled like garbage. Not a pleasant aroma.  
  
"What? "Shigure asked, looking a bit panicked as he glanced up at her. What he saw staring back at him was shocking.  
  
"What happened to YOU?!" he blurted out in surprise, his eyes wide as he stared at her.  
  
"Don't you LIKE my new look?!" She snapped as she glared up at him, idly brushing the left knee of her red and white striped capri's. Like that would get rid of some of the grime.  
  
"This is all YOUR fault!" She hissed, pointing at him as she continued," I went through heck for you! I searched through putrid garbage for your suit, but did I find it?! No! Then I was nearly knocked off the crate I was standing on when some crazy lady dumped a basin of ice water out the upstairs window! So then I smelled like WET GARBAGE! Next I slunk down one alley after another, nearly getting lost before I found a house with some laundry hanging out to dry. And I tore my pants when I fell over the top of the fence and it started to rain when I grabbed those pants and shirt for you! That's why they're a bit damp. I decided stupidly to get back by cutting though some yards, where a huge snarling dog with a mouthful of teeth chased me. I tripped and fell over a cat then, that's where the scratch on my face came from, and my leg hurts now too! Because that stupid dog bit me! And to top it off, I now smell like wet rotting garbage and dog! It's not a pleasant aroma! And while I may have been able to explain the broken wrist to your cousins, I doubt I'll be able to make excuses for my PRESENT appearance!" She yelled as she got to her feet, limping toward the house.  
  
"...I'm sure we can come up with something. Maybe no one will be at the house when we arrive?" Shigure called after her, his tone hopeful.  
  
"The way today has been going? I highly doubt it."  
  
"Everything certainty smells good, Miss Honda." Yuki said with a smile as they sat down to eat that night, his chopsticks in his hand.  
  
"Why, thank you! Everyone eat up! There's planet for all of us. "She said with a smile as Kyo muttered something under his breath, picking up a piece of cod with his chopsticks.  
  
"So, um, Hatori. I've been wondering. What exactly do you tell Akito when you go to check on him? I'd assume he knows you're staying with us..." Yuki asked Hatori, a questioning look on his face as Tohru and Kyo both turned to look at him as well.  
  
"I told him Shigure is ill. Let's just leave it at that." Hatori replied dryly as he reached for the salt.  
  
"What are you going..." Yuki began to ask when they suddenly heard the front door slid closed.  
  
"Oh!! That's sounds like Shigure! "Tohru exclaimed happily as they heard what sounded like Shigure chattering away in the entryway. She leapt to her feet and hurried for the entryway, Kyo and Yuki close on her heels. Hatori remained seated at the table, picking up his cup of tea to take a sip.  
  
"Well. Won't they both have some explaining to do." He muttered.

  
  
"Ok. Here's the plan. Tohru normally serves dinner about now, so maybe if we're extra quiet and you hurry, you can get upstairs to change before anyone notices we're back. "Shigure whispered to Julian as he quietly slid the door open. He stepped aside and Julian hurriedly limped past him, making it halfway up the stairs before Shigure closed the door loudly, chattering to himself as he stood in the entryway.  
  
"Bless you, Shigure!" She muttered under her breath as she made her way up to the hallway, before she heard Tohru and the boys greet Shigure at the door. She limped down the hall to Tohru's room, closing the door as quietly as possible. Now, if he could just buy her enough time to wash off and change before anyone came looking for her, she was golden. Unless Hatori was there...  
  
  
  
Whew. Another Chapter down. And it's still the same day in the fic...lol. Anyway, I'll probably update by this weekend at least! Stay tuned!  
  
Thanks to my reviewers for this chapter and the chapter before it!!  
  
krenya-alenak- Glad ya liked it! Yeah, Kiddy Grade was a bit tough for me...but I tried to make things as clear as possible. I hope the other anime's I use are easy to understand...lol  
  
Myu Higurashi – Hey! One of my faithful's!! Thanks for continuing to read! I'll return the favor and check you're stories out!! Aww, you're so sweet...but it's hard for me to imagine I'm the best.  
  
foxgrl991-He he!! Hope you like this update!! It was fun to write!!  
  
Sinfulpurgatory – Yeah, I get a kick out of Julian...In the earlier chapters she was a bit nicer it seems...guess her true side is showing now, he he he.  
  
Lhuntathraeil-:)


	15. Things Better Left Unsaid

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket but Julian and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.  
  
Her wrist and leg were killing her.  
  
"Why do these things happen to me anyway? I must have the world's worst luck or something. Things just never seemed to go my way." Julian whined with a moan, her uninjured arm thrown over her eyes as she lay on Tohru's bed. It was nice though, to be clean again. To wear clean clothes and not smell of garbage. It was wonderful. Plain wonderful. Her favorite outfit may have been ruined, but after wearing it for the past 3 days straight, she doubted she'd have wanted to wear them ever again, anyway.  
  
"I wonder when I'll be able to get in contact with Trent again." She muttered, not daring to move her face much if she could help it. The scratch was hurting again too and even talking was nearly unbearable. Anyway though, if she added it up, 5 days here equaled ½ an hour in the real world, and it had been 11:30 p.m. when she'd first arrived here. But that had been about what, 15 days or so ago? That meant it was about 12:30 now. Trent had said he was going to bed, and wouldn't see her until 5 the next afternoon... that was still like 16 and ½ hours from now.  
  
"Great. I'm stuck here in the Fruba world for a little over a month until I see Trent next. What am I going to DO in all that time?" She mumbled as the door opened. She moved her arm and turned her head to glance in the direction of the door, sitting up when she saw it was Hatori.  
  
"Shigure told me you hurt your wrist. I see that's not the only thing you've injured in these past 10 days." He said dryly, walking over to her after he shut the door, an eyebrow cocked as he stared pointedly at her face.  
  
"I tripped and fell over a cat." She said, not knowing how much more into detail she should go. She wondered if Shigure had told them about her finding out the big family secret.  
  
"Oh? And was that before or after you hurt your wrist?" He asked as he crouched on the floor by her feet and rummaged through his medical bag.  
  
"...It was after." She replied, feeling equally embarrassed and mortified.  
  
"Hmm. I see. "Was all he said as he took a bottle of alcohol from his bag. He unscrewed the lid and splashed a little of it onto a tiny sponge, dabbing the scrape on her face with it, not making eye contact with her as he did so.  
  
"Shigure tells me you remembered what hotel you'd been staying at in Kansai, but you were fruitless in your search. How disappointing for you. " Hatori informed her as he finished, pulling a roll of gauze from his bag.  
  
"What? Oh. Oh yeah. It was very...heartbreaking. (Shigure! What the FREAK did you TELL these people?!)" She said, attempting to act upset. She wasn't sure how well she was doing in her effort.  
  
"I see." He replied dryly as he took her wrist and examined it. "Well. You did a number on it, now didn't you. This will hurt. Try not to scream too loudly." He added after several minutes as he glanced up at her appraisingly.  
  
"Uh, well, I'll tr...yeeoowwww!!" She screeched as he popped the bones back into place, tears of pain filling her eyes.  
  
"I told you it would be painful." He replied flatly as he began to wrap her wrist.  
  
Julian didn't reply as she muttered under her breath, most of her comments uncharitable thoughts toward Shigure and the 2 girl from the grocery store.  
  
"There. Don't sure that arm for a while, and it should heal quickly. Now. Why don't you tell me where you 2 REALLY were." He said as he finished up, resting back on his heels as he watched her, waiting for her response.  
  
"(Oh shoot. Shoot, shoot, SHOOT!') Wha...what are you talking about? I thought you said Shigure told you where we were?" Julian asked with a nervous half-smile, trying to act confused.  
  
"Yes, he did. But Shigure's not always the most truthful of people, you understand. It comes from being a writer. "  
  
"Oh? Well, I don't know what he would have told you that was wrong. We were on our way to the Grocery store and I mentioned something about a store I remembered in Kansai. He talked me into going there. Said I must have been staying there someplace. And that's where we were. Checking things out in Kansai." Julian replied, keeping her answer as vague as possible.  
  
"Hmm. So I see. Well. I suppose Shigure was telling the truth for once then. More or less. "He replied as he eyed her before he stood up and Accidentally bumped her leg with his own.  
  
"Oww! "Julian replied without thinking, biting her lip as she felt ready to cry.  
  
"Well. You're just a walking injury. What else is wrong with you then?" He asked her, an eyebrow cocked in skepticism as he knelt before her again.  
  
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Julian replied hurriedly. Geez! Where was Yuki or Tohru when she needed them! Was Hatori the only person left in this house or something?!  
  
"No, I don't think so. Pull your skirt up so I can see your leg." He said as he gave her a hard look.  
  
"WHAT?! She exclaimed, flushing a bright shade of red.  
  
"I am asking you as a DOCTOR. Now, pull your skirt up." He said as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"Why do these things happen to me?" She thought as she pulled the section of her skirt covering her right thigh up, holding the skirt down so all he saw was her leg and nothing else.  
  
"Is that a dog bite?" he asked as he eyed the wound, for once sounding surprised.  
  
"Yes." She snapped, the hand holding her skirt tightening into a fist. This was embarrassing.  
  
"Let me get this straight. You broke your wrist, was scratched by a cat AND bitten by a dog, ALL on the same day?!" He questioned her as he bandaged her leg.  
  
"Is that so hard to believe? I had a bad day, ok?! First I was knocked over and I broke my wrist! Then the dog chased me, and I tripped over the cat, which scratched me right before the dog caught up with me and bit me! I really don't want to talk about it!!" Julian snapped, feeling close to tears again.  
  
Hatori stared at her in silence for a minute, before a crocked smile flickered across his face  
  
"Would you like a sleeping tonic? It may help. You sound a bit stressed out." He said as he closed his bag again, though he didn't move.  
  
"...Oh, shut up." Julian replied sullenly as Hatori pulled her skirt down.  
  
"How'd you know it was my leg, anyway?" Julian asked him as she glanced at him, unnerved to find him staring at her with this smirk on his face.  
  
"Simple. The wound was seeping blood on your skirt. See?" He replied, fingering the spots of blood, his fingers brushing against her bare leg as he did so.  
  
"Oh." Julian squeaked, figuring she was probably as red as a beet again, his touch making her shiver.  
  
"What are you THINKING?! "She screamed at herself in silence, feeling mortified. What WAS she thinking?! He was just an anime character, after all. He wasn't even real! Maybe she should have her head examined while he was still here as well...  
  
  
  
He he he. Maybe a hint of romance? Guess you'll have to wait and see.  
  
Thanks to all of you who reviewed. Sinfulpurgatory – Yeah, I was working the angle of the gross out factor. But if you've ever noticed, in a lot of anime's, the characters always wear the same clothes a lot of time...he he  
  
Myu Higurashi – Well, I guess you didn't need to wait long for chapter 15, he he. I don't know when chapter 16 will be up, though. I have a few other stories I'm working on – a ranma ½ fan fic, an Imadoki fanfic, and my orginal story, so I keep pretty busy.  
  
foxgrl991- Well, yeah. Gotta love the randomness. It's the only way to go.  
  
Kamuki Tanairi- Glad you like it! Thanks for reading!! It makes me happy..he he  
  
KonekoCat-chan- Ah! Oh no! My very own Mei!! Lol!! But lookie lookie...I'm typing...your message...it got to me right here ( pats spot on chest where heart would be) No wait...that's heartburn. Sorry... he he he 


	16. I Really Hate to Garden

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, and Trent are mine!

Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet

A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.

-------

Julian stabbed the spade she held into the moist dirt and wiped her head off with her arm, a scowl on her face as she glared at nothing in particular.

"Who's lame idea was this anyway?!" She grumbled as she sat back on her heels, glancing around the small patch of earth that was Yuki's secret base. It was bright and sunny out, not too hot, and all together the perfect day for gardening. At least, that's what that dope Shigure had told her this morning when she'd wondered down stairs for breakfast, all sleepy-eyed and still yawning with every step. For some reason, the moron had promised Yuki he'd weed the secret base while Yuki was at school, but it had fallen on Julian, with her broken wrist and all.

Shigure had made his sob story sound so pitiful. He was behind on his deadline, and would she please do this teeny, tiny little thing for him so Mei doesn't call the house and scream and cry in his ear again like she did yesterday? Hah!! Let the guy go deaf for all she cared!! She could still hear her reply to him, "Oh sure! I can do that. It won't be so bad!" Stupid moron. If she could, she'd go and slap herself upside the head forever agreeing to this in the first freaking place. Next time Shigure asked her for a favor, she'd tell him where to shove it!

"Stupid. Frickin. Garden. It doesn't even look that big, so why the heck is it taking me all day long?! "She grumbled as she jerked the spade out of the ground and attacked a clump of weeds with it. Cheeky little thing wouldn't die! Where was the weed eater when she needed it?! Or round up? Something!! Anything?! Why, even having an extra arm to use would be a vast improvement.

"What ARE you doing?" A familiar voice demanded suddenly as a shadow fell over her, his voice not amused in the slightest.

Julian looked up and glared at Hatori, unknowingly rubbing a smudge of dirt across her nose.

"Why don't you ask SHIGURE what I'm doing?!" She demanded as she gritted her teeth, stabbing the spade viciously into the weed clump.

"Get up! Let Yuki weed his own garden. "Hatori demanded, stepping over to her so he could grasp her by the arm and haul her to her feet.

"Quit manhandling me! "She snapped at him as she pulled her arm from his grasp, as she glared daggers at him. She knew she really didn't have a reason to be so mad at Hatori, but he was there, and Shigure wasn't, so he'd have to deal with it.

"If you're going to glare at me like that, at least wipe that dirt off your nose so I can take you seriously." Hatori finally said, his mouth twitching as he stared at her, his eyebrow cocked.

Feeling to irate to be properly mortified, Julian rubbed the dirt off with her sleeve, shooting a steely glare at Hatori when she was through.

"There. Is that better?" She hissed as she placed her hand on her hip, her injured arm still resting lifelessly in her sling.

"Preferably. Now, come along. We need to have a talk with Shigure about what are appropriate tasks for someone with an injury." Hatori replied as he began to walk toward the house, followed by Julian.

"You have this "talk" with Shigure. I don't wish to speak to him at present." Julian sniffed, wrinkling her nose as she scowled.

"Hmm. So you say. I meant to ask you before, but why is your hair that odd color of Ecru?" Hatori asked dryly as he slanted a look at her, his face unreadable.

" It's called buying hair dye of poor quality. "Julian said she glanced up at him with a calculated frown.

"If you were tired of your previous hair color, you should have simply gone to the stylist." Hatori replied as he looked at her, a thin smile on his face. Why...that creep! He thought this was funny.

"Well, it takes money to go to the Stylist. And money does not grow on trees. (Except in Animal Crossing.)"

------

Shigure glanced up from his paper when he heard the door slam shut, someone stalking down the hall. Julian stomped past his office door on her way to the Kitchen, her white shirt streaked with dirt.

"Julian. You're back. How did the gardening go? Oh...Ha...Hatori is here as well." Shigure called out, his voice trailing off as Hatori's irate visage appeared in the doorway. Shigure gulped and grinned sheepishly at Hatori as Julian banged around in the kitchen.

"Haa-chan! And what brings you here to my humble abode this morning. Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything." Shigure asked, chuckling nervously.

"We need to have a chat, Shigure." Hatori announced, pulling the door closed.

"But..but what about Julian?!" Shigure asked in panic, his eyes widening. Hatori looked more ticked off than normal. He wasn't...no. The idea was ludicrous.

"Oh. Don't worry about Julian. I asked her to run an errand for me. "Hatori replied, an evil gleam in his eye as he glanced at Shigure.

"...I think we should wait and have our conversation when everyone gets home."

"No. I don't feel like taking care of any witnesses."

"I...I'm against violence. "

"I'll make this as quick as possible then."

"...Mother."

------

Muhahahahahahaha!!!!! I love this scene with Hari and Shi-chan!! It made me giggle when I was writing it at work tonight. Which makes me look crazy and unbalanced...but oh well!!

Thanks for your reviews! I got a lot with my last chapter!! It rocked!! ;0

SinfulPurgatory-Yeah, that would be scary to open a closet and see hundreds of the same thing...spooky!! And who said Julian was going to hook up with Hatori? He he he. Shigure was always my favorite chara in Fruits Basket. He's crazy. But not Ayame crazy..he he he

Myu Higurashi- Yeah, Kyo rocks. But he's just way too young for Julian (she's 22-23, you know) That's why I'm leaning toward the older Sohma guys. Which means in otherwords, Hatori and Shigure. It will never be Ayame. Lol

Kaeru Soyokaze- Yeah, Julian seems to be well liked, and to garner a lot of sympathy. Gee. Wonder why? Lol!!

Samika- lol. That's all I got to say, lol!

Ihuntathraeil- It's ok...I giggle insanely too...he he he...

Kamuki Tanairi- Awe! Thanks for liking the fic so much you look for a new chapter all the time!! It's sweet. And it was my pleasure to review your fic for you!!

And last, but certainly not least,

Kaya-guardian-of –time—AGHHHHHHH!!!! You've stolen my nifty little rant at you!!! Fiend!!! Lol!!! As punishment—no Kaya. You are debunked to Vienna. I'll just do Aya and Kaya's voices myself. He he he!! Just Kiddin'!!! Love ya in a strictly platonic way, Flake!!! Oh, and btw...what did your friends think of me? Did any of them say? I wanna know....he he he.


	17. Sprechen Sie Deutsch!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, and Trent are mine!

Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet

A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud. HOWEVER, the words in brackets in this chapter are the translation for the german conversation between Momiji and Julian.

------

Just what had Hatori been thinking when he asked her to do this errand for him? It wasn't that she MINDED doing it for him...she just didn't actually know where she was going. You know, at times, Julian thought she w as a bit TOO willing to be helpful. For instance, she tended to have a habit of agreeing to things she really had no idea about. Like the gardening. Whoever heard of an one-armed gardener anyway?! And this. Shouldn't she have had at least an IDEA of where the school was BEFORE she agreed to deliver Momiji's lunch? Did she honestly not have a brain? Or was it still at home while she was stuck in TV land? Who knows. She'd probably fried it actually. By switching from one anime to another, and then back again. At least, that was HER suspicion.

And anyway. What was wrong with Momiji BUYING his lunch? Surly ONE of his friends would have had some money they could have loaned him. But they WERE high school kids. So there wasn't any guarantee ANY of them had money.

So, all in all, Julian supposed she couldn't fault Hatori for asking her to take this food to Momiji. Couldn't let the poor boy starve, she supposed. But someone should have had enough brains to remember that she didn't KNOW where the high school actually was. But evidently not.

-------

15 minutes and 2 detours later, Julian stood in front of the school, panting slightly as the bag with Momiji's lunch swayed slightly from the handle's she'd looped around her wrist. Well, she'd found it. Not that it had been that easy, but still. At least it wasn't raining. Nor had she tripped over a cat or been chased by a dog. But there WAS the trip home still. She wouldn't think about that. She had enough to fill her mind with. Now she actually had to find Momiji. From all the times she'd read the manga's and watched the anime, you'd think she'd have an idea of what the layout of the school was like, but she really didn't have the slightest clue. Because seeing a random hall or room here and there wasn't any help. And she kept getting this school mixed up with all the different schools in the other school comedies she owned. Maybe she'd see another student and she could ask them. She pulled the door open at the front of the building and went inside, wrinkling her nose at the quiet. This may have been an anime school, but schools everywhere really must be the same. It brought back annoying memories. Julian had hated high school. Everyone had been so fake and superficial. But at least she hadn't had to deal with rapid fan club girls. THAT only happened in anime, it seemed.

"Excuse me. Are you looking for someone?" a male voice suddenly asked from behind her, startling her out of her wits. She turned and saw that male teacher she'd sometimes see in Tohru's classroom in the different episodes. From all appearances, he was the school's lone teacher. If you were basing your assumptions on the anime, anyway. Privately Julian had always thought he wasn't that bad looking. He reminded her of Hideki's friend on Chobits. What WAS that guy's name? Oh right. It was Shinbo...

"Um, good morning. I'm here to see Momiji Soma. I have..." She began to say when he cut her off in mid sentence.

"Oh! We're so glad you could make it here so quickly. I'll show you where the Nurse's office is." He said, hurrying off down the hall. Feeling out of other options, Julian followed him, feeling confused. Nurse's office? Why was he taking her there? She was just here to deliver a lunch. A lunch! They were at the Nurse's office soon enough and the teacher opened the door, ushering her inside.

"This is Ms. Sohma. She came to pick up Momiji." The guy informed the woman, who was sitting behind her desk overlooking some papers. She rose when they entered, and nodded as she listened to what the guy had had to say.

"But I'm not...oh, never mind." Julian said, sighing as the teacher and nurse both looked at her blankly. Might as well not even attempt to explain who she was.

"Thank you so much for coming to get poor Momiji. He's resting back behind the curtain." The nurse said, gesturing at a curtained off cubicle Julian hadn't noticed.

"I'll find a student to bring you Momiji's things. It'll only be a minute. " The guy said, leaving as the Nurse sat back down at her desk, returning her attention to what she'd been doing.

Julian blinked as she made her way over to the curtain, uncertain whether she should pull it back or not. She couldn't believe they'd just assumed she was a Sohma. What if she wasn't a Sohma? Well...ok, she wasn't really anyway, but her circumstances were a bit odd anyway. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the curtain aside and stepped into the cubicle, glancing down at Momiji. Evidently he was sick. He didn't look sick to her.

"Guten morgen, Julian!" He announced brightly as he swung his legs back and forth on the edge of the table, a lollipop in his hand. His blond hair was mused, so he must have been lying down at some point, and Julian saw he was wearing a girl's uniform as normal. Taken off guard, Julian spoke without thinking, and answered him in German.

"Momiji! Was ist falsch? Hat Hatori mich gebeten, lhnen lhr Mittagessen zu bringen, und bringen Sie mich hier?"

(Momiji! What's wrong? Hatori asked me to bring you your lunch and they brought me here?)

" Hey! Können Sie Deutsch auch sprechen? Das ist kühl! Wir müssen mit einander auf deutsch die ganze Zeit jetzt sprechen! "

(Hey! You can speak German too? That's cool! We have to speak to each other in German all the time now! )

Julian rolled her eyes, a faint smile on her face.

" Ja. Stimmen Sie, zu versprechen Sie ich. Erzählen Sie jetzt mich was ist falsch"?

(Yes. Ok, I promise. Now, tell me what's wrong?)

" Gut, ich fühle sehr gut nicht. Hatori mag für uns nicht, um andere zu sein, wenn wir krank fühlen. So habe ich ist kränker gefälscht als ich bin tatsächlich so sie würden schicken mir Heim".

(Well, I don't feel very well. Hatori doesn't like for us to be around others if we're feeling sick. So I faked being sicker than I actually am so they'd send me home.)

"Wegen des Tierkreissfluches ja"?

(Because of the Zodiac Curse, yes?)

" Klar! Aber wie wissen Sie um das?"

(Yeah! But how do you know about that?)

Too late Julian realized what she'd said, and she paused as she racked her brain, a sheepish smile on her face.

" Ich habe auf Unfall erfahren. Aber wird dies brauchen, unser kleines Geheimnis, Zustimmung zu sein? Wenn Hatori ich erfahren hat, habe gewußt, müsste er Akito erzählen. Dann müsste ich aufhören, mit Shigure und den anderen zu leben. Ich weiß nicht, was ich dann machen würde. Deshalb werden Sie das Geheimnis behalten"?

(I found out on accident. But this is going to need to be our little secret, ok? If Hatori found out I knew, he'd have to tell Akito. Then I'd have to stop living with Shigure and the others. I don't know what I'd do then. So, you'll keep the secret?) Julian asked, holding out her pinkie. Momiji bent his own around hers and they shook on it.

" Ich verspreche!"

(I promise!) He announced, glancing at her with a merry twinkle in his eye. He was such a cutie.

" Vielen Dank. Jetzt warum denken sie, daß ich ein Sohma bin?"

(Thank you. Now, why do they think I'm a Sohma?) She asked as she leaned against the wall, twirling the bag with his lunch around her wrist.

"Albern! Ich habe sie erzählt, daß Sie ein ein waren! Als ich das Haus von Shigure gerufen habe, hat Hari mich erzählt, daß Sie auf Ihrem Weg hier schon waren, und daß ich nur mit Ihnen zurückkommen soll. Ich mußte sie erzählen, daß Sie ein Sohma waren, oder ich hätte zu Ihnen nicht passen können. Ich habe sie erzählt, daß Sie die Ehefrau von Hari waren, aber wir sollen ihn kennen das nicht lassen.

(Silly! I told them you were one! When I called Shigure's house, Hari told me you were on your way here already and that I should just come back with you. I had to tell them you were a Sohma, or I wouldn't be able to go with you. I told them you were Hari's wife, but we shouldn't let him know that.)

" Klar. Ich bin nicht sicher er würde schätzen die Idee, Momiji".

(Yeah. I'm not sure he'd appreciate the idea, Momiji.)

" Ach würde, er nur embarressed werden. Ich denke, daß Hari Sie mag. Er hat mich erzählt, daß er comng war, Ihr Handgelenk heute zu kontrollieren, und er hat glücklich geschienen. Hari nie glücklich, zum Haus von Shigure zu gehen.

(Oh, he'd just be embarrassed. I think Hari likes you. He told me he was coming to check on your wrist today, and he seemed happy. Hari's never happy to go to Shigure's house.)

" Ich denke, daß wir behalten sollen, daß zu uns, auch".

(I think we should keep that to ourselves, too.) Julian said as the nurse stuck her head in, holding out Momiji's bag. All in all, this turned out to be quite the informative little errand.

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And here is the latest chapter!! It was a lot of hard work writing most of the conversation in this story in German!! I finally found a free translation site online, so for those of you who may know German, and think the sentence structure is wrong of something. Don't blame me. Blame the translation site. Thanks to those of you who will be reviewing!! Those specific thanks will be at the end of chapter 19. This is a pre thanks.


	18. Interlude 3 Anya, the Cleaning Lady

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, and Trent are mine!

Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet

A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.

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Anya whistled as she pushed her cleaning cart down the hallway to apartment 5b, the last apartment on the 2nd floor. A young lady lived there, if she remembered correctly, a very sweet, tidy, little thing. It never took Anya long at THIS apartment. The old Jewish lady took out her ring of keys and flipped through them, finding the key for 5b. She slid the key in the lock and pushed the door open after she'd unlocked it. She flicked the light on as she pushed her cart through the door. She cocked one of her thick, hairy eyebrows as she glanced around, tsking under her breath. The living room looked cluttered; books and those new fangled dvd things scattered all over the coffee table. An empty glass sat on the table as well, one of the throw pillows on the floor. The cat wasn't in the laundry room either, something Anya was sure the girl was very particular about. Making a face, the short old lady left her cart by the door and headed for the kitchen She clicked her tongue in disapproval as she glanced at the dismal sight- a sink full of dishes, an opened box of cereal knocked over on the table, cereal scattered around it. The bedroom wasn't much better and Anya cocked an eyebrow as she spied the jockstrap lying on the floor in the bathroom. Had the girl turned into a slob over night? The mess though, did remind her of what one might expect to find in a guy's apartment. And then there WAS that jockstrap...

Shaking her head, Anya picked a book up off the coffee table and sat it on top of the dvd player, muttering one word under her breath as she sat to work.

"Oy!"

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And here is interlude 3. Lets see if Julian will be able to survive the next place she goes. Poor Girl. She's going to have an ulcer when this is through.


	19. Black and White and Shades of Gray

Disclaimer- Fruits basket, Hana Kimi does not belong to me. Julian is my creation, however.

Pairings: There will be pairings in this story eventually...you'll need to read to see what develops.

A/N: Words in Brackets are merely thoughts. Not spoken dialogue.

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"...So anyway, I think you should **marry **Hari! You'd look so cute together. And you're just his type!" Momiji babbled enthusiastically as they made their way home, cutting through the park. It was deserted except for them. Which was probably a good thing, since Momiji was talking so loudly as he bounced along beside her anyway.

"Why do you say I'm Hatori's type? Because I keep injuring myself? For that particular reason, I'd be inclined to agree with you." Julian replied dryly as she rolled her eyes with a grin. Geez, she had a headache all of a sudden. Frowning, she reached up to massage her forehead, forgetting she still had the bag with Momiji's lunch wrapped around her wrist. It banged into her face, causing Julian to see stars briefly.

"Yeeoowwwww!" She screeched, her vision blurring. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she cupped her hands around her nose, which was throbbing insistently. At least this time she remembered to be mindful of the bag. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes as she stood there, her whole face beginning to throb.

"Julian! Are you ok?" Momiji asked in concern as he tugged on her sleeve. Peeling an eye open, she glanced at him, shocked to see his face begin to turn various shades of gray.

"Ah! Momiji?!" Julian exclaimed in appalled horror. She let go of her nose and pulled Momiji closer to her, seeing her own arm change colors as it passed within her line of vision.

"Juli? What's going on? Things look really weird. Everything's in black and white!" Momiji asked her as she glanced around in panic, her grip on him tightening. Everything **was** in black and white and shades of gray, almost like they were...no!

"No! This **can't** be happening! There's no way Trent's back from classes already!" She muttered in horror, her eyes wide, the pain in her face forgotten. She wrapped her other arm around Momiji, vaguely aware of a familiar popping sound before she blacked out.

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Julian came to hearing voices. But she was fairly positive they weren't hers. And they weren't just in her head either. At least she didn't think so, anyway. She supposed it was possible though. That they were in her head. Because this was some manga or something. And anything's possible in a manga.

"Do you think she's ok?" One voice asked, its tone not very deep. Probably a girl.

"I don't know. Where she'd come from anyway? Nakatsu, go get Dr. Umeda." Another voice commanded, a guy this time.

"I'll go get him. I'm faster than Nakatsu." The first voice said. Julian heard the sound of someone hurrying away, but she kept her eyes closed, trying not to groan. Her face was hurting...oh yeah. Because she'd hit herself in the face with Momiji's lunch. Speaking of which, where **was** Momiji?

"Momiji..." She mumbled as she lay there, throwing her arm over her face. There was something furry under her other arm, the broken one, but she really couldn't move it enough to determine what it was. But even in her delusional state, she was pretty sure she knew **what** it was, unfortunately. But if they were in a different manga, and she was sure they were... Nakatsu and Umeda...she was pretty sure those were characters from Hana Kimi. Anyway, as she'd been saying...or rather thinking, they must be in a different manga, which meant that if she accidentally turned Momiji into a bunny in the **Fruits** world, then he wouldn't be able to change back into his human form until they got back, right? Which meant she was stuck with a talking** bunny** in a manga where animals don't **talk**. Things could get weird **real** fast. She was suddenly aware the guys were talking again. Talking about the yellow rabbit, most likely...but if this was a manga; he wouldn't really be **yellow**, would he? Maybe in their eyes he would be. They were from a manga, after all...

"It's not really that odd to see a woman on campus...but they don't usually pass out." One of them was saying, Julian unable to determine who was speaking.

"No. And what's with the rabbit? It's not wearing a collar, but why would she have a wild rabbit?" The other said.

"Who knows. But I don't like the way the rabbit's looking at me. It acts too aware of its surroundings."

"I don't know. It looks confused to me." Said one of them. Julian could just imagine the guy crouching there, leaning back on his heels as he shrugged. Julian chose that moment to open her eyes, moving her arm.

"Hey! She's awake. Are you ok, ma'am?" asked the one closer to her, sporting bleached out hair. Nakatsu. Which meant the other one was probably Sano. And she bet it was Mizuki who went to get Dr. Umeda. Which would explain why she thought there'd been a girl here...because Mizuki **was** a girl. Not that most of the students at this all boys' school knew that...

"I'm fine." Julian replied as the boys helped her sit up, pressing her hand to her head. It still hurt a little. And she was confused. As all get out. But she'd have to think about **why** she was in a manga some other time.

"Are you sure? Do you remember what happened?" Sano asked her, running a hand through his dark black hair. Thinking of hair...she wondered how hers looked to them. It **was** ecru colored after all.... Not that the magenta hue of her hair wasn't beginning to show at the roots of her hair as it was anyway.

"Uh...I was walking (think Julian, think!) and I just...blacked out I guess. Uh...I'm anemic." She said, glancing around. "Thank you Lord that I overheard Shigure say that." She thought as her eyes fell on Momiji, who was staring up at her in confusion. Thank goodness the rabbit had enough sense not to say anything. That was just what she would have needed.

"Oh. If you're sure that's all it was then. Mizuki will be here with our school's doctor soon... Are you here to visit one of the students?" Sano asked her, his gaze one of curiosity. Or scrutiny...either or.

Oh no. No, no, **no**! What was she supposed to tell them now? Was she written into the script here too, like in the Kiddy Grade Anime, or did she just...fall into the manga or something?

"I...uh...I'm here to see..." She began to say, when Mizuki and Dr. Umeda approached, saving her from explaining. Even in other series, she has to see the doctor... if it was possible for her to die in these worlds; she was bound to eventually.... Not from anything instantly or serious... just from her own stupidity.

"This better not be a waste of my time walking out here." Dr. Umeda said as approached her, glancing at Julian as Sano and Nakatsu moved, his eyes widening when he saw her.

"Satori!? What are you doing here? I thought you weren't arriving until tomorrow!" he exclaimed as he stared at her, a bewildered look on his face.

"Uh...Sorry. I, um, tired to get in contact with you..." She said, her sentence trailing off as she glanced down at Momiji again. Poor thing. He was probably going to be confused for the rest of his life now. Not that **she** knew what was going on either....

"Dr. Umeda, you know her?" Mizuki asked, looking confused as well. It must have been catching.

"Do I...this is Satori Kanai. She's my new assistant. What happened to you anyway, Satori?! Since when do you have a broken arm?" Umeda replied, turning to stare at her again, his eyebrow cocked as he smirked at her in that irritatingly cocky way of his.

"I tripped and fell in the grocery store last week." She replied, glancing off to the side. Oh, this was a fine mess she was in. The doctor's assistant. At an all boys' school. She didn't even **know** anything about medicine as it was. Oh all the stupid manga she owned, it **had** to be this one. Oh well, at least she didn't end up in one like Rurouni Kenshin. They'd probably want to eat poor Momiji for dinner or something...

But things were going to go bad. She could **tell**. And she still had to explain all this to Momiji. Poor thing. What was she thinking anyway, grabbing onto him? This was all her fault. They just better not be gone for days this time. Hatori might have more or less excepted Shigure's explanation for **their** disappearance, but it wasn't going to work with Momiji.

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Finally! A new chapter!! He he... sorry I took so long to update. I had writers' block for a while, and then when I thought about where I was going to take this, my friend borrowed my Hana Kimi manga's. Had to wait until I got a new one so I'd have everyone's name... Anyway, thanks for all my reviews! I'm not gonna really respond to each one individual anymore, though. I have several other stories on here, and it gets kinda confusing for me to keep the reviews straight. But I'd still love to hear what everyone thinks! And if you have time, check out my other stories too!

For those of you unfamiliar with Hana Kimi, here's a brief explanation:

Hana Kimi is about a 17 year old girl named Mizuki Ashiya. Mizuki is Japanese American, and after watching a high jump competition on TV (a video most likely, she was 14 when she first watched it), Mizuki becomes interested in one of the competitors, a guy her own age named Izumi Sano, a talented athlete from Japan.Mizuki decides right then and there that she wants to be Sano's friend. Poor Mizuki longs to meet Sano for three whole years before she finally manages to get to Japan. The thing is, he goes to an all-boys school. This does not deter Mizuki though! She gets her friend Julia to cut her hair, gets herself boy's school uniform, travels to Japan, and enrolls in Sano's school. Wow, now that is dedication for ya!Right away Mizuki encounters the guy she was looking for. She first meets Sano when she runs into class late and bumps in to him in the hallway. She leaves her book bag behind in her haste, and he returns it to her in class. Yes, Sano is in Mizuki's class! This causes her no end of happiness, though Sano wonders why the new 'guy' in his class is smiling at him so much.Things get even better for Mizuki. Not only is Sano in her class, she manages to get Sano as a roommate in the boys dorm too! WOW! Now they can be great friends! However actually living together begins to add some tension to their relationship. Mizuki finds herself caring about Sano as more than a 'friend' and Sano finds himself attracted to his roommate. Things are difficult for Mizuki, who must guard her feelings for Sano and hide her true gender from everyone.The situation is not any easier for Sano, whose feelings for Mizuki become very strong as well. Watching him cope with his emotions is one of my favorite parts of the story.For added flavor, throw in a hilarious cast of supporting characters. First there is Shuichi Nakatsu; a classmate of Mizuki's who totally falls for her right away, even believing she is a guy. Poor Nakatsu gets so confused! Then there is Nanba, the upperclassman leader of Mizuki's dorm. He is someone who Mizuki can talk to sometimes, though Sano thinks he is a bit of a flirt. Next is Umeda, the school doctor. He is flirty and cool and very stylish for a school doctor. He becomes Mizuki's confidant, even though he often startles Mizuki with his private flamboyance ; Finally there is Julia, Mizuki's blond-haired, blue-eyed American best friend. Julia knows all about Mizuki's deception, and when she arrives on the scene in Japan, she makes a definite impact!


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